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François Tavenas, 1942-2004

Published: 13 February 2004

It is with sadness that the ¿´Æ¬ÊÓƵ community notes the passing of François Tavenas, former Vice-Principal (Planning and Resources), 1989-1997. A noted scholar, Tavenas had a long and distinguished career as a professor and administrator in post-secondary education. He died suddenly in his sleep, February 13, in Luxembourg, at the age of 61. Born in Bourg-de-Péage in France, Tavenas held a degree in civil engineering from the Institut national des sciences appliquées of Lyon and a doctorate in geotechnics from the University of Grenoble.

As Vice-Principal, Tavenas was responsible for the completion of the Wong Building, the state-of-the-art facility that is home to the Department of Chemical Engineering, the ¿´Æ¬ÊÓƵ Metals Processing Centre, the Department of Mining, Metals and Materials Engineering, and the Plasma Technology Research Centre.

Tavenas left ¿´Æ¬ÊÓƵ to become rector of Université Laval, and last year was appointed the founding rector of the Université du Luxembourg. The institution is a first for the European duchy (population 400,000), and Tavenas was given the responsibility of creating a university from the ground up.

Funeral services will take place in Luxembourg on Tuesday, February 17. Friends and colleagues of Tavenas are invited to join members of his family for a commemorative service to be held February 20, 3:00 pm, at the Théâtre de la cité universitaire, pavillon Palasis-Prince, Université Laval. Expressions of sympathy can be made by email: actavenas [at] videotron.ca, or by post to 2, place de France, L-1538 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché du Luxembourg.

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