There has been a shake-up in Laurentian University’s board of governors for the second time in four months.
This as Laurentian continues to undergo court-supervised insolvency restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (or CCAA).
Six members of the board have departed, and three have been newly appointed.
“Judy Gougeon, Vernon Cameron and David Harquail join the board of governors, bringing expertise and skills necessary to advance the university’s transformation plan,” said a press release issued Thursday.
“Departing members include Maxim Jean-Louis, Cathy Modesto, Brian Montgomery, Guy Labine, Gerry Bilodeau, and Debbi Nicholson.”
“On behalf of Laurentian’s board of governors, I am pleased to welcome our new governors, who bring exceptional experience to this board,” said Jeff Bangs, interim chair, Laurentian University board of governors, in the press release.
“I also want to thank our departing governors for their voluntary service, especially as this University continues to navigate through its restructuring.”
In December, as part of a provincial financial package to the insolvent Laurentian University, 11 members of Laurentian’s board of governors stepped down, including then board chair Claude Lacroix, and five other people were appointed to the board by the province.
Laurentian’s current interim board of governors chair, Jeff Bangs, is one of the recent provincial appointees.
Two of the people who stepped down from the board this month were among those who were only appointed this past December — Debbi Nicholson and Gerry Bilodeau.
The changes come as the number of voting members on Laurentian University’s board of governors is being reduced in size from 25 to 16.
With the recent resignations and additions, there are only currently 11 voting members on Laurentian’s board.
The changes to Laurentian's board size are in response to the Ontario legislature passing Bill 84 (Fewer Fees, Better Services Act) on March 3.
The legislation includes a Schedule 7, with amendments to the Laurentian University of Sudbury Act, which repeals and replaces various sections of the act, impacting the composition of the LU board of governors.
Information on the amendments included on an Ontario government website said that before the changes, the act said Laurentian’s board is to consist of 25 members, nine of which are elected from nominations submitted from its former federates (i.e., University of Sudbury, Huntington University and Thorneloe University).
Now that these universities are no longer federated with Laurentian, the new board size would be indicative of this reduced representation.
Under the new structure, those 16 voting members would include five Lieutenant Governor In Council (provincial) appointees, 10 other members, plus the university’s president.
Laurentian’s new board of governors members:
Judy Gougeon, an alumnus of Laurentian University, is an insurance industry veteran and serves as the Director of National Commercial Lines for BrokerLink. Gougeon has been active in the community, serving on the boards of the Sudbury Community Foundation, the Adanac Ski Club, and the YWCA.
Vernon Cameron is an accomplished executive, having spent the last 19 years in the U.S. in the public and private sectors, and an additional 12 years leading private equity companies in president and chief executive officer roles.
David Harquail is Chair of the board of directors of Franco-Nevada Corporation. Harquail has over 35 years of experience on public and non-profit boards and task force advisories. As a major benefactor of the School of Earth Sciences and its Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC) at Laurentian University, Harquail has long been committed to the betterment of the university.
