US-2003-5

UNIVERSITY SENATE

MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2003

ATTENDANCE

1.                 Call to order

The Speaker called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. He informed Senate of the passing of Mr. Kenneth Dunbar Adams, who had sat on Senate for many years in his capacity as University Registrar.

Dr. O’Brien updated Senators on three procedural matters that had been discussed at Steering Committee. Firstly, he indicated that the issue of increased representation of part-time faculty members and graduate students was still under study. In the meantime, there is no change in the membership of Senate but speaking privileges could be granted to a visitor from either constituency when requested by a member of Senate.

Secondly, with respect to the review regarding question period, Dr. O’Brien said that Steering Committee decided to maintain the 15-minute time limit. In order to do so, Senators should avoid long preambles by framing their questions as briefly as possible. Thirdly, while items being placed on the Senate Agenda are normally routed via Steering Committee, Dr. O’Brien conveyed Steering Committee’s decision on how to deal with the addition of Agenda items that are brought forth after the Steering Committee meeting as well as on the floor of Senate.

Since this was the first meeting of the new academic year, the Speaker asked Senators to introduce themselves.

2.                 Approval of the Agenda

3.                 Approval of the Minutes of the Open Session meeting held May 23, 2003

4.                 Business arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising from the Minutes.

5.                 Remarks from the Rector

Dr. Lowy congratulated the CSU for its orientation week, which was well attended and well regarded by students. He then invited Senators to attend the International Students’ Reception which will be held after the Senate meeting on the Loyola Campus.

The Rector encouraged Senators to participate in the Concordia Shuffle, the annual walk from the SGW Campus to the Loyola Campus to raise money for student scholarships. The Shuffle is taking place next Friday, September 19, starting at 1:00 p.m. The Rector’s Fall Reception will follow from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Dr. Lowy stated that the Loyola Medal Committee is seeking nominations for the recipient of the Loyola Medal, which is awarded every two years to an outstanding individual who has made a significant contribution to the Canadian community.

The Rector was pleased to announce that the official opening and naming of the new science complex will take place on Monday, September 22, at 2 p.m., which will be attended by Premier Jean Charest and other dignitaries. The new athletic field was opened on September 6, at which time Concordia’s football team won a smashing victory.

Dr. Lowy continued his remarks by updating Senate on the status of student enrolments. Applications and registrations are up at Concordia. While other universities have seen a decline in their enrolments since 1995, Concordia has experienced a 37% increase in enrolments over that same period. The average GPA of incoming students has risen this year to 82.1%.

Dr. Lowy updated Senate on the status of the full-time faculty members. While the number of full-time professors was drastically reduced from 1990 to 1995 following government budget cuts, Dr. Lowy reported that 290 full-time professors have been hired over the last two years, bringing the total number of full-time faculty to 813, slightly short of this year’s projected goal of 825.

Dr. Lowy concluded his remarks by given a quick update on the status of the various constructions projects and by stating his enthusiasm and optimism for the 2003-2004 academic year.

6.                 Election of the faculty members of Steering Committee (Document US-2003-5-D1)

Dr. O’Brien reminded Senators that only faculty members vote for faculty representatives on Steering Committee. Any faculty member having sat on Senate in a previous year is eligible for election and is required to be on the ballot. Faculty Senators must vote for two representatives from the Faculty of Arts and Science and one from each other Faculty. The ballots were distributed by Ms. Linda Healey and Ms. Barbara Black, who acted as scrutineers. Dean Tomberlin informed Senate that Prof. Etezadi was currently on sabbatical. Thus, Danielle Morin was the only eligible JMSB representative and she was deemed elected. After one round of voting, Profs. V.S. Hoa, Catherine MacKenzie, Reeta Tremblay and Terence Byrnes were elected.

7.                 Committee appointments

A question arose concerning the status of one the proposed appointees to the Student Hearing Pool. Two faculty members pointed out that, to their knowledge, Mr. Patrice Blais was also a full-time law student at Université de Montréal. The Secretary of Senate replied that Mr. Blais fulfilled the eligibility requirement stipulated in article 4 of the Policy on the Establishment of the Tribunal Hearing Pools in that he was a duly registered program student at Concordia. Accordingly, his name was put forth for approval.

Dean Singer asked that the principle of a student being enrolled in two universities at the same time and therefore being eligible to sit on the governing bodies of two different institutions be investigated. It was agreed that the Secretary of Senate will follow this up with the Registrar and report their findings to Steering Committee.

8.                 Closing of Lonergan University College

Dean Singer apprised Senate that the closing of Lonergan College was a wise academic and financial decision, albeit a difficult one. He reminded Senate that Lonergan College was created following the merger of SGW and Loyola, concurrently with the creation of six other smaller units and colleges. However, Lonergan was geared more towards the faculty and did not have a distinct curriculum. In light of the retirement of the full-time professors engaged in the College, declining student interest and loss of the building, the College has become less relevant and viable. Dean Singer stated that the Lonergan courses have been housed in other Faculty departments.

9.                 Amendment to article 7 of the Code of Conduct (Academic)

Pursuant to the reorganization of the Faculty of Arts and Science, the number of vice-deans has been decreased to areas where it is essential to have a faculty member, such as research, curriculum, etc. Other areas, such as student affairs and human resources, are headed by directors. The objective is to liberate faculty members from administrative duties to allow them to fully devote themselves to their academic careers.

Dr. Morin saw a potential problem in creating a non-academic position to administer the Code of Conduct (Academic), wondering how a professor would react to a Code Administrator’s decision. Dean Singer replied that Rose Fedorak, the current Code Administrator, does have academic credentials and experience.

10.               Amendment to article 9 of the Policy on the Establishment of Tribunal Hearing Pools

11.               Reappointment and appointment of Tribunal Hearing Chairs

Queries were raised regarding the qualifications of the Chairs. Senators were informed that, in accordance with the Policy, Chairs must be appointed from among qualified alumni or emeriti with training in law or tribunal procedures as well as some knowledge of the University environment. Me Birks said that the formation of the Chairs provides them with the skills to preside over hearings.

With respect to training, the Secretary of Senate, who also acts as Secretary of the Academic and Student Hearing Panels, confirmed that training is conducted for the Chairs. She added that as part their training the new appointees will attend hearings as observers.

12.               Items for information

Dean Sacca spoke of:

Dean Esmail conveyed that:

Provost Lightstone reported that:

Dean Singer noted that the new science building was a major accomplishment, which was made possible by the leadership of Dr. Lowy and that of Jack Lightstone, Michael Di Grappa and Robert Roy. Dean Singer said he was proud to be associated with the new building and invited everyone to attend the September 22 opening.

12.1             Report from the Academic Hearing Pool

Dr. O’Brien reported that the aforementioned report, bearing Document number US-2003-5-D7, was filed for information purposes only.

13.               Question period

There were no questions.

14.               Other business

Stating that while student eligibility requirements may have been adopted for legitimate reasons, Mr. Lee opined that the criteria goes too far by excluding students who are in conditional standing, such as Mr. Paul Figura, the president of the Engineering and Computer Science Students’ Association. Mr. Figura’s standing does not take away from his ability to participate in Senate and he should not be penalized for having experienced a difficult semester. Mr. Lee opined that this rule was very stringent and reminded Senate that the Student Accreditation Act allows the CSU to appoint whomever its wants. Thus, he asked Senate to consider making an exception for Mr. Figura.

Dr. O’Brien responded that it would be difficult for Senators to assess and deal with this issue on the floor of Senate without further information. Therefore, he ruled that Mr. Lee’s request be referred to Steering Committee.

15.               Next meeting

The next meeting of Senate will be held on Friday, October 3, 2003.

16.               Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m., on a motion moved by Dean Singer and seconded by Prof. Tremblay.

                                                                                                          Danielle Tessier
                                                                                                          Secretary of Senate