The Following Is a Summary of the Senate Meeting Which Took Place on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

From: Marc Richard
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 4:19 PM
Cc: Marc Richard
Subject: Senate Meeting Report, 2012-05-16

Colleagues,

The following is a summary of the Senate meeting which took place on Wednesday, May 16, 2012.

Senate adopted the minutes of the last Senate meeting (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/minutes_april_18_2012.pdf), the report of the Steering Committee (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/report_of_the_senate_steering_committee_1.pdf) and the agenda (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/agenda_may_16_2012.pdf).

In her remarks from the Chair, Principal Munroe-Blum first addressed the subject of the ongoing student protests in Quebec. She reported that CREPUQ's Executive Committee had already met with the new Minister of Education, Michelle Courchesne. The Principal indicated that the situation is evolving rapidly, and that the work of the University will continue under all circumstances; she also underlined the importance of the safety of staff and students. She noted that admission applications for next year are being received and accepted in numbers which are in line with those for a typical year. Principal Munroe-Blum also commented on last week's proposed agreement between the government and the student groups, saying that it would have had unacceptable impacts on the resources and autonomy of universities.

The Principal also discussed workforce planning, a topic on which V.-P. Di Grappa will make a more formal presentation to Senate in the fall. The workforce planning initiative which was launched on May 1 fits into the context of Bill 100, which requires Quebec universities to reduce the number of their administrative and support staff. The Principal's comments summarized the main points of V.-P. Di Grappa's May 1 memo to the McGill community on this subject (http://www.mcgill.ca/hr/workforce-planning/memo-community); she noted that positions involving front-line student services will not be affected.

In the period for discussion which followed, Senator Janda referred to the possibility that, as a result of the protest movement by Quebec students, McGill might not receive as much funding as it had anticipated in its recent budget. He urged the Administration to think about possible ways to handle such an eventuality. The Principal responded that this was being done.

Under the agenda item for formal questions, Senator Clare asked on behalf of Senator Crawford a question on the McGill Writing Centre (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/question_regarding_the_mcgill_writing_centre.pdf). Dean Potter answered by giving an update on the progress made by the Centre since its establishment. She described some of the services it offers, such as small-group workshops and tutorial services, and provided staffing numbers and other statistics for the Centre.

The second and final question, posed by Senator Dinel on behalf of Senator Ma, concerned the McGill Staff-Student Mentoring Program (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/question_regarding__the_mcgill_staff-student_mentoring_program.pdf). Dean Everett answered that the Administration is developing a better idea of what the scope of the program is at present and could be in the future. She noted that the SSMU report on the subject contains elements related to making the program better known, one such element being the idea of renaming it. The program's home is currently the Office of the Dean of Students due to its pan-University character.

Senate moved into confidential session to consider the report of the Honorary Degrees and Convocations Committee. Upon the return to open session, Provost Masi gave a PowerPoint presentation (not yet posted) which updated Senate on Achieving Strategic Academic Priorities 2012 (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-63_asap_2012_progress_report.pdf). Senator Clare asked if in the future the slides of such presentations could be made available to Senators in advance, to which Provost Masi answered yes.

Associate Provost White next submitted to Senate a set of proposed revisions to the Regulations Relating to the Employment of Academic Staff (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-64_revisions_to_regulations_relating_to_the_employment_of_academic_staff.pdf). As Professor White had noted in March during Senate's preliminary discussion of the subject, most of the changes are aimed at clarifying the Regulations without altering their substance. Unlike the draft discussed in March, the version presented today does not change the standard of performance required for achieving tenure; the proposal for doing so has been withdrawn for further discussion. Depending on the sense the Administration gets from these additional discussions, the proposal to modify the tenure performance requirements may return to Senate on its own at a later date.

During discussion of the motion to adopt the revisions to the Regulations, Associate Provost White was asked on what date the changes would take effect if Senate approved them. She suggested September 1, so that the changes would not affect individuals who are currently preparing their promotion and tenure dossiers.

Senator Richard moved that article 7.11.1 (as per the new numbering in the middle column of the document), which reads...

7.11.1 The minimum requirement for the granting of tenure shall be:

(i) superior performance in two categories of Academic Duties set out in Section 4.1; and

(ii) reasonable performance in the third category of Academic Duties set out in Section 4.1.

...be amended to replace the word "third" with "remaining", since the original phrasing could be misinterpreted as a reference to article 4.1 (new numbering), which lists "other contributions to the University and scholarly communities" as category (iii) of a staff member's academic duties. The amendment was approved.

There was discussion of whether "superior" was the appropriate adjective to use in article 8.3.1, which states that candidates for promotion to the rank of Professor must demonstrate, among other things, "a superior teaching record." It was proposed by Dean Grant that the term "high quality" be substituted; this was accepted as a friendly amendment.

As per the suggestion of Senator Galaty, Professor White will introduce the term "normally" into some of the timelines prescribed by the Regulations.

Senate voted on and approved the overall motion to amend the Regulations. It was understood by Senate that Associate Provost White, prior to bringing the revised Regulations to the Board for final approval, will correct any typos and numbering errors contained in the document. It was also understood that, as Professor White's covering memo states, "Certain sections in the existing Regulations (appeals, discipline and grievance, retirement) apply to all three groups of academic staff (tenure track professors, librarians, contract academic staff). It is proposed that these items be moved into separate sets of regulations covering all academic staff and brought to Senate at a later time. In the meantime, sections 8 to 15 of the current regulations will remain in effect."

Senate approved the 438th report of the Academic Policy Committee (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-65_438th_apc_report.pdf), including the creation of a B.A. Liberal Arts program (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-65_438th_report_appendix_a_b.a._liberal_arts.pdf) and of Department of Bioengineering (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-65_438th_report_appendix_b_department_of_bioengineering.pdf).

Senate also approved the report of the Senate Nominating Committee (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-66_nominating_report.pdf), including the nomination of Joan Hobbins to the Senate Committee on Physical Development.

Associate Provost White presented a proposal to change the date on which the Policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law is to be reviewed (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-67_proposal_to_review_harassment_policy.pdf). The proposal was adopted. Professor White also put forward nominations to fill two upcoming assessor vacancies related to the Policy (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-68_appointment_of_assessors.pdf). Prior to the approval of the nominees, Senator Han stated that PGSS had not been consulted about the candidates; she suggested that the consultation process be reviewed. Professor White responded that all student groups had been sent a list of candidates and had been asked for comments; she added that PGSS had not replied. Senator Knight noted that SSMU had received only a list of names, and commented that it is not possible to make a proper assessment of such a list if no background information on the candidates is provided.

Dean Everett presented on behalf of Deputy Provost Mendelson the report of the Committee on Enrolment and Student Affairs on Awards and Financial Aid Provided to McGill Students (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-69_annual_report_on_scholarships_and_student_aid_2010-2011.pdf). In the discussion which followed, Senator Clare raised concerns about the fact that the CGPA required for the continuance of student aid had been raised from 3.5 to 3.7. She asked whether this has affected the continuance rate for student aid and whether it may be encouraging students to take easy-credit courses. Provost Masi responded that Professor Mendelson would be in a better position to furnish a detailed answer, but that to his knowledge it does not seem to have had an effect. Senator Knight commented that maintaining an A Minus average is not an easy feat, and that this high standard may potentially discourage participation in student leadership; she also remarked that it may have different impacts in different disciplines. She proposed that the Committee on Enrolment and Student Affairs be asked to look into this issue. Provost Masi answered that he would be happy to have such an analysis done to see if there have been impacts on student aid continuance.

Senator Pekeles presented the report of the Board of Governors to Senate (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-70_-_report_of_board_to_senate.pdf). Senator Dinel asked when the minutes of the Board will be made available online. Principal Munroe-Blum responded that the subject was in the Board's calendar of business and that this initiative would move forward as fast as possible.

As the final order of business, Secretary-General Strople presented the calendar of Senate dates for 2012-2013 (https://secureweb.mcgill.ca/senate/sites/mcgill.ca.senate/files/d11-71_2012-2013_senate_dates.pdf).

The next Senate meeting will be held on September 20, 2012 (the date is exceptionally a Thursday). If you have any questions, please get in touch with us.

Regards,

Your librarian Senate reps,

Daniel Boyer

Joan Hobbins

Marc Richard