Judith Woodsworth


Judith Weisz Woodsworth is a Canadian academic and university administrator, having formerly served as President of Concordia University and Laurentian University.

Early life and education

Born in Paris, France, in 1948, she grew up in Winnipeg. She received a BA in French and Philosophy from McGill University, a Licence ès Lettres from the Université de Strasbourg in France, and a Ph.D. in French Literature from McGill.

Career

She taught in the Département d'études françaises at Concordia University, where she also served as Vice-Dean in the Faculty of Arts and Science. In 1997 she was appointed Academic Vice-President at Mount Saint Vincent University.
Woodsworth has written about translation theory, translation history and literary translation, and was the founding president of the Canadian Association for Translation Studies. She has written about French literature and translation, and is a certified translator and member of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada.
In 1999, she was inducted as an Officer in the Ordre de la Pléiade, Ordre de la Francophonie et du dialogue des cultures, for her work in promoting the French language and intercultural relations. She is a past Chair of the World University Service of Canada.
She edited Translators through History, also published in French as Les traducteurs dans l'histoire and in Portuguese as Os Tradutores Na Historia. In 1997, she published her first translation of a literary work, Still Lives.
On February 29, 2008, Concordia University announced that Woodsworth had been chosen as its new president and vice-chancellor, effective August 1, 2008.
She is currently on the Board of Directors of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, Montreal International, as well as Vice-President of CREPUQ.
On December 22, 2010, Concordia University issued a statement announcing that Woodsworth had stepped down from her role as President and Vice-Chancellor of the institution for personal reasons. She will receive a severance package of $703,500, worth twice her annual base salary.

Publications