Pauline Marois will be the next chancellor of the University of Quebec in Montreal. The first woman to occupy this position, she warns against the budgetary restrictions imposed on higher education by the Legault government. “It’s a risk we take, and it seems to me that we don’t have the means to do it,” she believes.
Published at 5:00 a.m.
What you need to know
- Pauline Marois has been named chancellor of the University of Quebec in Montreal.
- His mandate will be above all honorary.
- She will act as an advisor to the university.
In interview with The Pressthe former premier of Quebec presents her vision of higher education, where the challenges are numerous.
Among them: budgetary restrictions imposed on universities and CEGEPs, which have been forced to suspend work totaling several million dollars in recent weeks.
“I have been in the place of the people who govern,” recalls M.me Marois. I know it’s not easy, that you have to make choices. But again, we must not make choices that will set us back. »
The one who describes education as “a pillar for any nation that wishes to grow” accepted the post of chancellor with enthusiasm – and astonishment.
“It was a complete surprise!” I absolutely didn’t expect it,” she says.
The first woman to become Prime Minister of Quebec, she was chosen for “her exceptional contribution to the advancement of Quebec society,” underlines the establishment.
Her “pioneering journey” also goes hand in hand with that of the university, which notably created the first faculty of sexology in North America.
Above all honorary
Lasting five years, the mandate of Mr.me Marois will be above all honorary; she will act as an advisor to the university. She will be able to participate in meetings of the administration committee or even represent the university externally.
The position of chancellor had not been filled since the end of Réal Raymond’s mandate in 2013.
The new rector of UQAM, Stéphane Pallage, decided to bring back this honorary figure after so many years.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Pauline Marois
If it’s better for me to be in the shadows, I’ll be in the shadows. If it’s better for me to appear publicly more often, I will. I want to be useful, it’s simple.
Pauline Marois
The offer was right up his alley. Of all the positions she has held, it is at the head of the Ministry of Education that she has fulfilled the most, she says.
“This is the function that I liked the most. Of everything I have done, even as Prime Minister, it is in education where I felt that I could be the most useful, and that I could change things the most. »
Aligned visions
If she did not attend UQAM herself, two of her children studied there. One of them is currently completing a graduate degree in education.
It is a daring, dynamic university that thinks a little off the beaten track.
Pauline Marois
She says she was particularly attracted by two major projects started by the university, including the revitalization of the Latin Quarter, at the heart of various social crises since the pandemic.
Social worker by training, Mme Marois was “touched” by the initiative. “One of the great philosophies that drives my profession is to give power to citizens in their lives. This project is exactly in that vein,” she says.
The other major issue is the creation of a faculty of health sciences, which would include a medicine program. A bold project, which arouses some opposition.
“When you do something new, when you break the mold, it’s rare that you get followed right away. I look at the Faculty of Health Sciences, the comments all over the place, but I think the idea is great. And even if there is a little objection, they are capable of holding the fort,” she believes.
