The Histories We Inherit: Annual Babcock Lecture

Concordia’s Reckoning With the Pasts of Its Founding Institutions

A University of Maine alumnus, Professor Graham Carr is president and vice-chancellor of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. A historian by training and a long-time leader in higher education in Canada, Carr returns to his alma mater to explore the role universities can and should play in addressing the legacy of colonialism and anti-Black racism on campuses and in greater society. He will explore two case studies from Concordia’s recent history: a formal apology it issued for the role systemic racism played in student protests and their aftermath in 1969 as well as its response to the role two religious orders with ties to Concordia played in Canada’s infamous residential school system. In both examples, Concordia has had to come terms with the actions of its founding institutions. Please join us as we hear firsthand how Concordia’s university leadership is charting a course forward through two of the most important cultural topics of our day.

This years annual Robert Babcock lecture, presented by the UMaine Department of History and the Canadian American Center, will take place on October 30 at 3:10 PM in the Bodwell Lounge at the Collins Center for the Arts. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, see the attached flyer.