Faculty Meeting Monday, January 26, 2009
Date:
Monday, January 26, 2009 - 12:00am
Location:
ATAC 5035
Agenda:
Office of the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities
Tel. (807)343-8167
Tel. (807)343-8202
Fax (807) 766-7155
MEMORANDUM
Date: January 22, 2009
To: Members, Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
From: Victor Smith, Chair, Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty Council
Subject: COUNCIL MEETING
There will be a meeting of the Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
ON MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2009 AT 11:30 AM TO 2:00 PM IN ROOM 5035 (ATAC BUILDING).
AGENDA
1. Approval of Agenda.
2. Approval of the November Minutes.
3. Business Arising from the Minutes.
4. Registrar's Report.
5. Dean's Report.
6. Departmental Reports.
i) Philosophy - Renewal of Dr. Jaro Kotalik as Adjunct Professor - four year term.
ii) History - Renewal of Dr. Geoffrey Hudson as Adjunct Professor - four year term.
7. Proposed Strategic Plan
8. Orillia Report.
9. Other Business.
10. Adjournment.
_________________________________
VICTOR SMITH, Chair, Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty Council.
Minutes:
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2008
APPROVED
A meeting of the Faculty Council was held on Friday, November 21, 2008 at 12 noon in the ATAC Board Room 5035.
V. Smith forwarded his regrets for this meeting. H. Smith chaired.
1.
Approval of Revised Agenda
It was moved by G. Siddall and seconded by J. Leggatt that the revised agenda be approved.
Carried.
2.
Approval of the Revised Minutes
It was moved by J. Leggatt and seconded by P. Jasen that the revised minutes for October 16th be approved.
Carried.
3.
Other Business
i) Research and Innovation Week - Dean Jobin-Bevans
D. Jobin-Bevans discussed the upcoming Research and Innovation Week which will be held in February, 2009. There was discussion on what was done last year and what was needed for this year. D. Jobin-Bevans will look into having a banner made. D. Jobin-Bevans and S.D. Stone agreed to form a sub-committee which will look into such things as displays, pamphlets, posters, banner, etc.
ii) Transfer Credits
D. McPherson stated a concern about students being able to enrol with credits from another university as some credits are not equal to ours. R. Berg stated that the only time Chairs/Directors are consulted is when the Registrar in unsure about a particular course. R. Berg stated that there should be a standard procedure. There is currently no process in place. G. Siddall stated that she will follow up with the Registrar and Admissions.
iii) Spring/Summer courses
There was discussion with regard to Distance Education courses and their impact on how regular courses are counted within each department/school.
iv) Health and Safety Meeting
This discussion was a follow-up to the presentation given by Human Resources with regard to Supervisors and "due diligence." It was stated that the definition of supervisor does not fit that of an academic Chair or Director. Discussion followed about legal costs, insurance policies, etc.
4.
Business Arising from the Minutes
There was none.
5.
Registrar's Report
A. Foshay was not able to attend the meeting. Two information emails were circulated.
6.
Dean's Report
Dean's Report for Faculty Council
November 21 Noon ATAC 5036
1. Durables: Final Decisions have still not been made. Should be hearing in the next few days.
2. Campus Climate Survey: It was done electronically--very low response rate. The university is going to redistribute it in hard copy. Please take the time to fill it out.
3. Budget: There will be a Town Hall addressing the budget situation on December 3, and I encourage you to go. Laurie Hayes has been given her budget assignment by AEC--she has to cut $3.6 million from her overall budget, which is about 6%. That includes all of the faculty budgets. She has not yet given the Deans their budget assignments because she is still thinking about the best way to handle this. The encouraging news for us is that it seems she will not simply ask each faculty to make a 6% cut. She plans to meet with each Dean individually to talk about each of the faculty budgets, because she realizes that the faculties are not all equal in terms of their current resources. I believe that this way of proceeding will be advantageous for us, because we are already seriously under-resourced, and I think she knows that. However, we will have to make some cuts, and they will not be one-time cuts. Every university in the province of Ontario, and across the country is facing a similar situation. Our situation is this. We have a deficit this year of $3.6 million. That is largely because of a shortfall in graduate student enrollment. We know that costs are going to increase every year, largely because of salary increases, so if revenue doesn't also rise, which would be primarily through enrollment, we will be facing increasingly larger deficits. The projected deficits, if revenue remains flat, are $6.4 million for 2009/10; $10 million for 2010/11; $16 million for 2011/12; $18 million for 2012/2013 and $51 million for 2013/2014. Obviously we need not only to make cuts but also increase revenue. The $3.6 million deficit we face right now is equal to 360 new enrollments. So recruitment and retention are critical. Also, the Vice-President of Advancement is laying out a 7-year plan today to the Finance Committee of the Board of Governors. In the short-term, we need to look at where we can make cuts that don't compromise too seriously our ability to operate and to offer curricula and programs that maintain sufficient academic integrity. What I need from Chairs is a list of the minimum number of courses you can offer for the next academic year. You can give me more than one scenario. What I would like to do is meet with each Chair and talk in person about where cuts really can be made and where they really cannot be made. One thing Laurie has asked us to do is to look at the courses being taught by contract faculty next term that have low enrollments, to see whether that is a way we can save some money. That way I will be in a good position to talk to Laurie. The other thing for us all to be thinking about is ways to increase revenue. I am going to talk to John Smith about ideas he might have about how our Faculty could increase enrollment, and if you are willing and interested in participating in that, please let me know. I want to finish by saying that this does not necessarily mean that you should not make requests of me for money--there are some things we should be spending money on. We just need to very mindful of the spending decisions we make.
Respectfully submitted by Dr. Gillian Siddall, Acting Dean, Social Sciences and Humanities.
7.
Departmental Reports
i)
Political Science- Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by J. Leggatt and seconded by M. that the proposed calendar changes be approved: PS Minor Program Change; PS 4110 - Change Description; PS 4330 - Add Course; PS 2530 - Delete; PS 4211 - Delete; PS - Program Minor in Law & Politics; PS - Minor Program in International Relations; PS - Remove Prerequisites.
Carried.
ii)
Sociology - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by S. Stone and seconded by M. Beaulieu that the minor program calendar changes be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by S. Stone and seconded by J. Leggatt of a new half year course to replace the required course for Sociology majors, "Social Research Traditions," be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by S. Stone and J. Leggatt that the change to SOCI 2911 be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by S. Stone and seconded by M. Beaulieu that the change of SOCI 2612 and 2613 from second year courses to third year courses be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by S. Stone and seconded by A. Den Otter that two new half courses with specialization in criminology offered at Orillia only be approved.
Carried.
iii)
Languages - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by V. Schonberger and seconded by R. Berg that the proposed clarification of year levels for minors and the addition of a new half-course entitled "African and Caribbean Literature" be approved.
Carried.
iv)
Women's Studies - Request for Calendar Changes (P. Jasen was Chair)
It was moved by H. Smith and seconded by M. Beaulieu that the proposed minor program calendar changes and the change in the cross-calendar course History 3105 as it relates to Women's Studies be approved.
Carried.
v)
History - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by P. Jasen and seconded by M. Beaulieu that the proposed minor calendar changes be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and S.S. Islam that all third year history course prerequisite requirements be changed from three FCE's to two FCE's be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and M. Beaulieu that current course, "The North American Fur Trade," be changed from a full year course to a half course be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and J. Leggatt that "Popular Culture in Modern Canada," be changed from a full year course to a half course be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and C. Southcott that the course Renaissance and Reformation Europe be changed from a third year course to a fourth year course, (cross calendared with Women's Studies), be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and M. Beaulieu that the new course Colonial Encounters in Canada be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and M. Beaulieu that the new course International Development in Historical Perspective be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by P. Jasen and A. Carastathis that deletion of Canada's Foreign Economic Policy in the Twentieth Century be approved.
Carried.
vi)
Philosophy - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by R. Berg and seconded by S.S. Islam that the proposed minor calendar changes be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by R. Berg and seconded by S.S. Islam that the Professional Ethics minor calendar change be approved.
Carried.
vii)
Visual Arts - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by M. Nisenholt and seconded by P. Jasen that the proposed minor calendar changes be approved.
Carried.
viii)
Northern Studies - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by M. Beaulieu and seconded by J. Leggatt that the proposed description change, (ie. minor concentration to minor program), be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by M. Beaulieu and seconded by J. Leggatt that the proposed minor program calendar changes be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by M. Beaulieu and seconded by C. Southcott that the proposed deletion of NS 4211 be approved.
Carried.
ix)
Economics - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by G. Siddall and seconded by P. Jasen that the proposed minor program calendar changes be approved.
Carried.
x)
English - Request for Graduate Calendar Changes
It was moved by J. Leggatt and seconded by D. Ivison that the proposed new Creative-Project program be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by J. Leggatt and seconded by D. Ivison that the elimination of the second-language requirement be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by J. Leggatt and seconded by D. Ivison that the elimination of the theory requirement be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by J. Leggatt and seconded by D. Ivison that the new course listings for courses already being taught as Special Topics be approved.
Carried.
xi)
Native Access Program - Request for Calendar Changes
The proposed calendar changes were deferred.
xii)
Music - Request for Calendar Changes
It was moved by A. Carastathis and seconded by C. Southcott that two new courses, MUSI 2337 and MUSI 3337, (opera), be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by A. Carastathis and seconded by M. Beaulieu that the addition of a new course MUSI 4915, (Music Criticism), be approved:
Carried.
It was moved by A. Carastathis and seconded by C. Southcott that Music 3381 (Conducting) be changed from one full course to two half courses (Music 3371 and 3372), and the addition of year level to Music 2336-3336, (Chamber Choir), be approved.
Carried.
It was moved by A. Carastathis and seconded by M. Beaulieu that the modification of the Program Requirement for the Third Year of the H.B. Mus. And H.B.A. (Music) programs be approved.
Carried.
8.
Orillia Report
A. Den Otter stated that they are still working on an academic plan. K. Fedderson was hoping to have a draft ready for Monday; however, it has been tabled for further discussion on requirements for degrees, required courses, distance education courses, etc. A. den Otter stated that they were working on a criminalization course at Orillia, and that they are also continuing to work on Environmental Studies.
9.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
ATTENDANCE
Thunder Bay Campus
M. Beaulieu
R. Berg
S.S. Islam
D. Ivison
P. Jasen
D. Jobin-Bevans
J. Leggatt
D. McPherson
M. Nisenholt
Dr. V. Schonberger
G. Siddall
H. Smith
S.D. Stone
Orillia Campus
A. den Otter
REGRETS
B. Cuthbertson
A. Foshay
K. Holmes
V. Smith
B. Stolar