Gretta Chambers' appointment as McGill's chancellor ends in about a year and an Ad Hoc Committee to Advise on the Nomination of a Chancellor will soon be formed. With this in mind, what role do you think McGill's chancellor should play in the future?




Ariel Eric Bales-Kogan, Vice-President (Academic), Science Undergraduate Society

The McGill chancellor's role is roughly analogous to that of the Canadian governor general, but what exactly does she do? My curiosity prompted me to contact her. Gretta Chambers wrote back: "[w]hat ... I actually do at McGill can be summed up, but not defined, as anything the University community ... asks me to do or what the community at large requests of me." Although I don't have a doubt that the chancellor's schedule keeps her as busy as a bee, in the future I would like to see her interact with students more often. The presence of the chancellor at student- initiated activities of all types would add an official stamp to such events. This could range from being present at student-sponsored lectures to greeting new McGill students. I think this may lead not only to the chancellor's position being better understood, but would make students feel that they were members of a real community.



Patricia Kirkpatrick, Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Government spending cuts to higher education have greatly increased the threat of universities being required to show intellectual cost-effectiveness. Government policy seems to suggest that universities should become sensitive to the market -- moving gradually into profitability and away from dependence on central funding. The chancellor must continue to represent McGill to the larger community as requiring the fullest government funding possible, that it might remain a source of new knowledge and the origin of critical, undogmatic and imaginative examination of received wisdom. In a world 'hell-bent' to regulate and homogenize thought, our chancellor must be able to defend the concept of autonomous thinking.



Maria Predelli, Professor of Italian Studies

The chancellor should strive to preserve the anglophone character of McGill. Quebec society needs an anglophone university with McGill's stature to provide its elite with the international scope required to interact effectively within the North American continent. I expect the chancellor to be a strenuous defender of the University's independence when it comes to academic decisions. This means to be zealous about McGill's standards and to refuse to be downgraded for narrowly defined financial considerations. It should be the chancellor's primary role to keep in contact with all the levels of government, and with the financial, cultural and business milieus in view of upholding the University's image in terms of its role and usefulness in contemporary society. This implies, of course, to be kept informed of the academic achievements and valuable initiatives of McGill's units.



Susan Vivian, Assistant to the Executive Director, Department of Facilities Development

The chancellor should look for opportunities to contribute to our own McGill community. As we struggle to manage the ongoing budget cuts and our ever-diminishing limited resources, the chancellor could serve a unifying purpose. A common figurehead offering encouragement, support and faith could go a long way to help stave off the less desirable side-effects of unwanted cuts that are inevitable in a decentralized organization. A greater sense of common purpose and belonging could offer some ease to the strain on this community's morale.