François Tavenas

23rd Rector of Université Laval

1997-2002

Originally from France, François Tavenas studied civil engineering at the Institut national des sciences appliquées in Lyon (1959-1963) and RWTH Aachen in Germany (1961-1962). He earned a doctorate in soil mechanics from Université de Grenoble in 1965.

After several years in consulting engineering, in 1968 he joined Université Laval as a professor and researcher in the Department of Civil Engineering, later serving as dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering from 1985 to 1989. In 1989, he was made vice-principal and professor of civil engineering at McGill University. Then in 1997 he was elected rector of Université Laval, where he served until 2002.

Mr. Tavenas’s career included tenures as associate editor of the Canadian Geotechnical Journal (1970-1982), president of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (1990-1992), and member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (1989-1995). From 1997 to 1998, he headed the Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des sciences (ACFAS) and joined GATIQ, an action group dedicated to the future of technology and industry in the Québec City region. He also served as president of the Réseau interordinateurs scientifique québécois (RISQ) network from 1998 to 2001 and president of the Conférence des recteurs et principaux des universités du Québec (CREPUQ) from 1999 to 2001.

In addition, from 1998 to 2002 he led the Québec Metro High Tech Park board of directors, the Comité Québec Capitale, and the Standing Research Committee of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). From 2001 to 2002, he served as vice president for the Canada region at the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education and president of the North America Advisory Board at the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, and was a member of the Observatory on Borderless Education Advisory Board of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

His geotechnical research work primarily focused on sensitive clay mechanics, pile foundations, embankments on compressible soil, and slope stability. In addition to a book, he published some 100 scientific articles. He won numerous awards, including the Keefer Medal from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, the Telford Premium from the Institution of Civil Engineers in London (twice), and the 1995 R.F. Legget Medal from the Canadian Geotechnical Society.

In 1999 he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in France. In 2001 he received the Julian C. Smith Medal from the Engineering Institute of Canada “in recognition of his contribution to Canada’s development.” In 2002 he received the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Mr. Tavenas also received the 2002 Award of Distinction from the Consortium for North America Higher Education Collaboration (CONAHEC) for his leadership in developing strong bonds of mutual understanding between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. In October 2003, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg appointed Mr. Tavenas as the first rector of the University of Luxembourg.

Mr. Tavenas passed away on February 13, 2004. He was made an Officer of the Order of Québec posthumously in June 2004.

Read the tribute to Mr. Tavenas given at his memorial ceremony by the rector of Université Laval.