Biography
With a doctorate from McGill University in Earth Science, François Courchesne has been a professor of soil biogeochemistry in the Department of Geography since 1988. He is interested in the impact of environmental change on the cycling of nutriments and contaminants, including trace metals, in terrestrial ecosystems. He has authored more than 140 articles and chapters of collective works with jury, and presented, alone or jointly, in excess of 250 seminars in national and international forums. François Courchesne was the primary researcher involved in major research infrastructures, such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Metals in the Human Environment research network, and the GenoRem project on bioremediation of contaminated soil, funded by Genome Canada. He served as co-chair of the NSCRC’s Environmental Earth Sciences grant selection committee, as well as of the rhizosphere working group at the International Union of Soil Science. He was also associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Soil Science.
François Courchesne chaired the Department of Geography from 2000 to 2009. From 2010 to 2017, he served as Vice-Dean of Planning and Infrastructure of the Faculty of Arts and Science. From 2019 until his nomination as Vice-Rector in 2020, he was Associate Vice-Rector of Graduate Studies.
Mandate
The mandate of the Vice-Rectorate of Human Resources and Faculty Relations is to define orientations in the areas of human resources, faculty relations and labour relations, in keeping with best practices and regulations. It allocates human resources in the University’s units to support the fulfillment of its core teaching and research mission. The priorities of the Vice-Rectorate and its teams are to support faculty careers, generate professional development opportunities and foster an inspiring living environment by making the promotion of equity, diversity and inclusion the focus of its actions.