Amid the festivities surrounding the 50
th
anniversary of the
Université de Moncton’s foundation, the board of governors
appointed Jean-Claude Savoie as the eighth chancellor of
this great Acadian institution. A native of Saint-Quentin,
Mr. Savoie is a well-known entrepreneur who, with his father,
in 1978 founded the Groupe Savoie, a business that has become
a flagship of the New Brunswick forest industry. A leader in
hardwood processing, it employs more than 550 people. The
new chancellor holds a bachelor of science from Laurentian
University and a bachelor of education from the Université de
Moncton. He has been a board member for several regional
and national professional associations. In 2004, l’Université
de Moncton conferred him an honorary doctorate in business
administration, one of many distinctions awarded to him during
his career as an entrepreneur. He admitted that his appointment
as chancellor came as a pleasant surprise. Jean-Claude Savoie
believes that the Université de Moncton is one of the great leaders
of post-secondary education in Canada. He believes that it has
enabled many Acadians to succeed and that it has contributed
to a greater visibility of l’Acadie beyond its borders.
A
NNUAL
R
EPORT
H
IGHLIGHTS
2012-2013 – U
NIVERSITÉ
DE
M
ONCTON
6
A
NEW
PRESIDENT AND A NEW CHANCELLOR ARE
INSTALLED
On the eve of its 50
th
birthday, the Université de Moncton
welcomed its eighth president and vice-chancellor, Raymond
Théberge. The installation ceremony for the new president was
held on October 26. A Manitoba native, Dr. Théberge holds a
Ph.D. in linguistics from McGill University and has worked
in a number of positions related to education, research and
administration. At the ceremony, Dr. Théberge highlighted
both the challenges and progresses that the institution serving
the Acadian community can expect over the next fifty years.
He also emphasized that, since its creation, the Université de
Moncton has played a key role in the development of the Acadian
community. He asked those in attendance if they could name
a university that has done as much to support its community
during its first half-century of existence. Over the last year,
Dr. Théberge has become acquainted with the institution’s
faculty and staff as well as with many of his colleagues from
other universities in the Atlantic Region. He also launched
a strategic planning process to redefine the Université de
Moncton’s main priorities for the next decade.
