Séverine Boulon: "Staying attentive to all staff members"
On January 12, the Board of Directors, on the recommendation of President Philippe Augé, elected fourteen statutory and delegate vice presidents to oversee the governance of the University of Montpellier. Séverine Boulon, responsible for social responsibility and campus life, is one of the new faces on this team, and we caught up with her at (S)pace. Let's meet her!
Name?
Séverine Boulon
Position?
I have been Vice President of the University of Montpellier in charge of social responsibility and campus life since January 2026.
Social responsibility?
Social responsibility encompasses promoting quality of life at work and preventing psychosocial risks, as well as combating all forms of discrimination for a university committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Scope of your mandate?
My mandate consists of four main actions.
Promote leisure activities and organize events on the various UM campuses to encourage interaction and socializing.
Support social initiatives aimed at assisting staff and their families who are experiencing social and socio-professional difficulties, in conjunction with social service assistants.
Working towards an inclusive university that promotes equality and diversity and combats all forms of discrimination. To this end, we carry out fundamental actions and raise awareness through regular or one-off events, such as Anti-Racism and Anti-Semitism Week in March and Anti-LGBT-Phobia Week in November.
Finally, improving quality of life at work and preventing psychosocial risks by developing a concrete action plan with the various stakeholders in the PSR and QWL steering committee, with the aim of promoting harmony and well-being among staff and users within the UM.
The Bolt Method?
Remain attentive to all staff members, their difficulties, and their needs, based also on the single social report, and promote cross-functional work between all departments and services involved in social responsibility within the institution.
First term?
No, I was elected to the IUT council for ten years starting in 2014 and served as deputy head of the biological engineering department at IUT Montpellier-Sète for three years from 2019 to 2022. At the central level, I was also an elected member of the research committee and academic council for four years. I am currently a member of the human resources committee for the biology and health division at the university.
Teaching?
I mainly teach at the Montpellier-Sète University Institute of Technology in the biological engineering department. I teach protein biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, and pharmacology. I also teach a few hours of preparatory classes for the agrégation exam at the Faculty of Sciences in molecular genetics.
Researcher?
I am a researcher and very happy to be one. I conduct my research in Edouard Bertrand's team at the IGH, the Institute of Human Genetics, on the role of molecular chaperones in cancer cell resistance.
From Montpellier?
I am not from Montpellier; I am originally from Lyon, but I came to Montpellier in 2000 to do my DEA (postgraduate diploma) first, then my thesis in cellular and molecular biology. After five years of postdoctoral research in Dundee, Scotland, I returned to Montpellier in 2010 as a lecturer at the University of Montpellier.
"Dare!"
This is a training course I took in 2015-2016. At the time, the program was led by Françoise Le Mouel and was called Springboard. It was designed for female professors and researchers.
This program is linked to the University's Gender Equality Plan, which is led by CFVU Vice President and Gender Equality Officer Agnès Fichard-Carroll. Since then, the program has become "Oser ! L'ESR au féminin" (Dare! Women in Higher Education and Research), and has been opened up to female Biats.
Due to Françoise Le Mouel's retirement, I was trained to become a trainer myself. Since 2022, I have been co-facilitating this training with Laure Parmentier (Rouages: "Working for important causes"), who is the head of the quality of life at work department within the university's campus life division.
VSS?
The University is very committed to addressing issues of gender-based and sexual violence. In this context, I have been appointed as the internal investigations officer for gender-based and sexual violence for the period 2024-2025, working alongside Jean-Paul Udave.
In a word!
Responsibility?
Social
Campus?
All campuses.
Work?
Well-being.
Discrimination?
To be avoided.
Science?
Future
Women?
Proud to be one.
Value?
Teamwork.
UM?
Committed.