Senate

President Gilbert called the meeting to order.

1. Approval of Agenda

Moved (K. Brown/A. Deighton) that the agenda be approved with the following amendments:

(a) To Item 4, under "Faculty of Professional Schools," add "PhD in Health Studies;"

(b) To Item 7, "Report of the Senate Academic Committee," add "Proposed Changes to the Parchment" and "Draft Academic Plan;"

(c) To Item 12, "Adjunct Professors," add "Moved that the following be ratified as Adjunct Professors to the MPH programs: Dr. Marina Ulanova, Dr. Neelan Khaper."

Carried.

2. Minutes of Senate Meeting #2006-3

Moved (P. Allingham/A. Nabarra) that the minutes of Senate Meeting #2006-3, held on March 31, 2006, be approved as presented. Carried.

3. Business Arising from the Minutes

There was no business arising from the Minutes of the previous meeting.

4. Proposed Calendar Changes for Referral

4.1 Moved (B. Dadgostar/L. Di Matteo) that the proposals by the Faculty of Business Administration for Calendar changes concerning the Business Minor programs be referred to Senate Committees. Carried. The proposals would be referred to the Senate Budget and Undergraduate Studies Committees.

4.2 Moved (A. Gillies/B. Dadgostar) that the proposals by the Faculty of Engineering for Calendar changes concerning Electrical Engineering courses be referred to Senate Committees.Carried. The proposals would be referred to the Senate Budget and Undergraduate Studies Committees.

4.3 Moved (I. Newhouse/G. Boire) that the proposals by the Faculty of Professional Schools for Calendar changes concerning the Master of Public Health - Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner program and the PhD in Health Studies be referred to Senate Committees. Carried. Both proposals would be referred to the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Graduate Studies Committee/Faculty of Graduate Studies Council.

4.4 Moved (L. Lovett-Doust/R. Dilley) that the proposal by the Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies for a Calendar change concerning the PhD in Biotechnology program be referred to Senate Committees. Carried. The proposal would be referred to the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate Graduate Studies Committee/Faculty of Graduate Studies Council.

4.5 Moved (B. Boire/G. Hayman) that the proposals by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities for Calendar changes in Economics and Political Science be referred to Senate Committees. Carried. All proposals would be referred to the Senate Budget Committee. In addition, the proposed changes in Economics undergraduate courses and Political Science undergraduate programs would be referred to the Senate Undergraduate Studies Committee, and the proposals for changes in Economics graduate courses would be referred to the Senate Graduate Studies Committee/Faculty of Graduate Studies Council.

5. Reports of the Senate Standing Committees on Proposed Calendar Changes to Undergraduate Programs

Moved (M. Leitch/Q.L. Dang) that the recommendations in the reports of the Senate Budget and Undergraduate Studies Committees for Calendar changes concerning the Community Based Teacher Education Program, Orillia campus courses, Nursing, English (except English 2xxx - Reading Culture), Biology, and Physics/General Science all be approved. Carried. Both Committees deferred consideration of the HBES (Parks/Tourism) program put forward by the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism.

6. Reports of the Senate Standing Committees on Proposed Calendar Changes to Graduate Programs

Moved (G. Boire/Q.L. Dang) that the recommendations in the reports of the Senate Budget and Graduate Studies (Council of the Faculty of Graduate Studies) Committees concerning Calendar changes be approved. Carried. In consequence the proposals concerning the MSc in Biology and the MA in History with a Specialization in Women's Studies have received final approval, the proposal concerning the MSc in Computer Science has been approved in principle for submission to the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies, and consideration of the proposals concerning the MSc in Kinesiology, the MES in Northern Environments and Cultures and the PhD in Sociology has been deferred - the first by the SGSC/FGSC and the latter two by the SBC.

7. Report of the Senate Academic Committee

The Committee presented to Senate the latest version of the Lakehead University Academic Plan for consideration and response. There was a wide-ranging discussion on various aspects of the Plan. A question was raised about when the Plan would be ready for final approval. J. O'Meara noted that two open fora for consideration of the Plan were planned for May 5^th and 12^th but foresaw the probability that further discussion would be needed at the next Senate meeting on May 15^th so that a final draft would not be available until later. F. Gilbert said that, if such proved the case, a special Senate meeting in June for final approval of the Plan could be set at the meeting on May 15th.

Copies of the current parchment and the proposed parchment, known as "Prototype A," were circulated among the members of Senate. J.O'Meara requested M. Shaw to describe in detail the changes to the Lakehead University degree/diploma parchment that were being recommended by the Committee. M. Shaw noted that three main changes were proposed:

(a) to change the conferral language in current use to the following: "The Senate and Chancellor of Lakehead University have conferred upon [name of graduate] the degree of [name of degree/diploma] together with all honours, rights and obligations belonging to that degree. In testimony whereof we have affixed our signatures and the seal of the University this [day] Day of May, [year]."

(b) to change the appearance of the parchment by giving it a landscape rather than a portrait orientation, by adding the University's coat of arms in colour, and by employing a moderately more ornate font.

(c) to offer students who wish a larger parchment the option of turning in their 8.5" x 11" parchment after Convocation in return for a framed 11" x 14" version identical to the original except that it would have larger fonts. The Alumni Association would look after the framing and delivery of the larger parchment in return for a reasonable profit.

Moved (J. O'Meara/L. Lovett-Doust) that the proposed changes to the Lakehead University parchment be approved. Carried.

M. Shaw was asked whether students would be allowed to have both the small and large versions of the parchment. He replied that the tradition in Canada and the Commonwealth was that only one parchment was issued to each student. G. Hayman asked whether graduates with parchments from earlier Convocations would be allowed to exchange them for the new one. M. Shaw replied that an asseveration would have to be provided that the issued parchment had been lost or badly damaged, in which case the Registrar's Office would, for the standard replacement fee, reprint the parchment in the new format with a small note to that effect. L. Di Matteo asked if there would be a time limit on requests for exchange of the smaller for the larger parchment. M. Shaw said that nothing had been set so far, but that such requests would likely be honoured for at least one to two months after Convocation. F. Gilbert asked M. Shaw to formulate a policy on the issuance of the larger alternatives and replacement parchments and present it to Senate for consideration.

8. Report of the Senate Executive Committee

Moved (M. Shaw/M. Leitch) that Isaam Dawood (Business Administration), Yanglin Gong (Civil Engineering), Rhonda Kirk-Gardner (Nursing), and Mathew Leitch (Forestry) each be appointed to the Senate Nominations Committee for a term lasting from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008. Carried.

9. Report of the Senate Information Systems Committee

Moved (M.N. Uddin/M.L. Hill) that the e-mail policy sent by communications on October 11, 2005 be rescinded until the Senate Information Systems Committee develops a new e-mail policy.Carried. F. Gilbert made it clear that, because this matter went beyond the jurisdiction of Senate, the motion would be purely advisory at this stage.

M.N. Uddin discussed the Committee's proposal concerning telephone policy. F. Gilbert said that this proposal should come back to Senate at its next meeting as an action item.

10. The University's E-Mail Policy

Moved (G. Phillips/R. Dilley) that the Chair of Senate request the A.E.C. to review the e-mail policy after seeking input from the University community and report its findings to Senate at the next meeting of Senate. Carried.

11. Report of the Secretary of Senate

Moved (M. Shaw/L. Malek) that the LUFA Executive Committee's recommendation that the Chair of the LUFA Research Committee be appointed as a non-voting member of the Senate Research Committee be referred to the Senate Research Committee and the Senate Organization Committee. Carried.

Moved that Senate ratify the election of the following faculty members to Senate for a term lasting from July 1, 2006 until June 30, 2009:

Dr. Matthew Boyd

Dr. Hamza Malik

Dr. Mehdi Zahaf

Carried.

12. Adjunct Professors

Moved (G. Hayman/G. Boire) that the following be ratified as Adjunct Professors in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities effective immediately until June 30, 2010:

Dr. Mary Donaghy (Psychology)

Dr. Steve Donaghy (Psychology)

Dr. Paul Johnson (Psychology)

Dr. Scott Sellick (Psychology)

Carried.

Moved (L. Meyer/S. Islam) that the following be ratified as Adjunct Professors in the Faculty of Forestry and the Forest Environment effective immediately until June 30, 2010:

Dr. Stephen J. Colombo

Dr. Guy Larocque

Dr. Robert Fleming

Dr. Gordon Kayahara

Carried.

Moved (M. Shaw/D. Hunt) that the following be ratified as Adjunct Professors in the Faculty of Professional Schools for the MPH programs:

Dr. Marina Ulanova

Dr. Neelan Khaper

Carried.

L. Hayes reported that a policy on "internal adjuncts" was still being worked on. P. Jasen asked why this matter should be voted on at all if there was no clear policy. F. Gilbert said that it should go forward to give the faculty in question clear status to apply for special Tri-Council grants.

13. President's Report

The President spoke about the MTCU's graduate funding allocations and a May 12^th meeting on the Research Building initiative. He reported as well on the Board of Governors' decisions about revenue streams for the next year, including fee increases averaging out at 4.2% overall. In addition he responded to questions from Senators on faculty retention, the University's support for a multiplex, and fee increases.

14. Report of the Vice-President (Academic) and Provost

L. Hayes spoke about the commencement of registration for programs offered at the Thunder Bay campus in the 2006-2007 academic year, imminent registration for Orillia campus programs, the work of the PTR Committee, and the search for a new Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities. She responded to questions on early registration in interdisciplinary programs and the possibility for students to indicate preferences for sections rather than to make selections.

15. Report of NOSM

D. Hunt spoke about medical student placements in aboriginal communities, the ongoing Admissions process, the curriculum, evaluation, electives, and concurrent programs. In response to a question he noted that discussion of biomedical ethics takes place in Theme 2 of the curriculum.

16. Report of the Senate Research Committee

L. Malek reported that the Senate Research Committee had recommended to the Vice-President (Academic) that Distinguished Researcher Awards be granted to Dr. T. Dunk and Dr. P. Fralick. He invited Senate to congratulate them and there was general applause. He noted as well that the Committee had been granted $15,000 to enhance research activities.

17. Report of the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning

M. McPherson reported that the Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning would be making recommendations in the coming week to the Vice-President (Academic) for Contribution to Teaching Awards, was reviewing the Instructional Development Centre, and was considering the establishment of a policy for timely reports to students about academic progress prior to course withdrawal deadlines.

18. Report of the Senate Representatives on the Board of Governors

K. Brown reported that the Board of Governors had met on Friday and noted that the University had enjoyed a budget surplus in 2005-2006 - the first in 10 years.

19. COU Colleague's Report

M.L. Hill, the Alternate COU Academic Colleague, reported in place of B. Muirhead on the COU meeting held on Thursday, April 20^th. She referred to a presentation made on the application of FIPPA to the Ontario universities on June 10^th, and noted some of the implications for current practices - e.g. posting grades on doors. She spoke as well about the task force on quality measurement and possible implications for higher education in consequence of the change in the federal government. She responded to questions about posting grades on doors and e-mailing grades to students. M. Shaw responded to G. Phillips' question on Lakehead's preparations for FIPPA.

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Moved (L. Di Matteo/F. Allaire) that the Meeting be adjourned. Carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

Respectfully submitted

With the assistance of Margaret Anderson gratefully acknowledged,

Millo L.G. Shaw

Secretary of Senate