As approved at the June 24, 1999, meeting of the Board of Governors. The "in camera" portion of the minutes have not been included herein. Copies of Appendices not included herein are available from the University Secretariat, Room 290, Stevenson-Lawson Building.
The meeting was held at 3:30 p.m. in Room 330, Stevenson-Lawson Building
PRESENT: Mr. W.W. Peel, Chair, Ms. J.K. Van Fleet, Secretary
Mr. J. Adams, Mr. S. Adams, Mr. R. Bateman, Dr. W.A. Bridger, Dr. R. Colcleugh, Dr. J.V. Collins, Mr. J. Etherington, Mr. T. Garrard, Mr. W. Gibson, Ms. S. Grindrod, Dr. P.P. Mercer, Prof. H. Murray, Dr. J.L. Stokes, Dr. A. Weedon.
The minutes of the meeting of April 22, 1999, were approved as circulated.
Mr. Bateman referred to the Board's resolution at the April meeting to refer back to Senate the matter of medical tuition fees for 2000-01 and 2001-02, so that the incoming Dean of Medicine & Dentistry could consult with the Senate Committee on University Planning. He suggested that the Dean also be invited to a Property & Finance meeting in the fall to provide the Faculty's perspective on tuition fees prior to the Board making the final decision. The Chair agreed to forward this suggestion to Dr. Moran.
In the absence of Dr. Moran, Dr. Mercer, in his capacity as Acting President, highlighted the report contained in Appendix I.
Leadership in Learning: °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â's Strategic Plan, approved in the fall of 1995 by Senate and the Board of Governors, requires that the Senate and Board be provided with progress reports in May and November each year. The May 1999 update, detailed in Appendix 1, outlines major developments in each of the major areas addressed in Leadership in Learning.
In response to questions from Board members, the following clarifications were provided:
• The review of the Research Ethics Board (Medical) was conducted primarily to determine whether or not °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â is compliant with the guidelines received from the Tri-Council. An issue arising from the review is the high cost of reviewing protocols for clinical trials (hospital based research). Henceforth, industrial sponsors will be charged a fee of $1,000 to have a protocol reviewed by the Ethics Research Board. [W.A. Bridger, Vice-President (Research)]
• A realignment of Teaching Assistantships administered by the Faculty of Graduate Studies alludes to the need for teaching assistant support from the Faculty of Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. [A.C. Weedon, Dean of Graduate Studies]
• The recommendations of the Undergraduate Program Review Audit Committee relate primarily to refinements in the program review process employed by °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â. New guidelines are used for the reviews of both undergraduate programs at the departmental level and cross disciplinary programs at the Faculty level. The most substantial recommendation was that °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â should utilize the template applied when proposing new programs when reviewing continuing programs . [B.D. Jameson, Executive Assistant to the President]
Dr. Mercer stated that the provincial government's pre-election announcement of new capital funds for post-secondary institutions, in the amount of $742 million, is interpreted as a first step by government to acknowledge the need for a major investment in Ontario's universities in recognition of the anticipated growth in enrolment. No details were provided explaining the process of allocation, nor was there any comment about the desirability of balancing new building construction and addressing deferred maintenance. He advised that °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±Ô¤²â's share should be between $40 million and $45 million and that plans are underway to provide the Ministry of Education and Training with information.
Responding to Dr. Colcleugh's question regarding the funding available for infrastructure support for Ontario research institutions, Dr. Bridger explained that until now the province's CFI matching came from the Ontario R & D Challenge Fund. That fund has been eroded and consequently all new awards will be funded from the new Ontario Innovation Fund ($250 million) which will be used for matching CFI grants.
Dr. Mercer reported that at the May 16 meeting of Senate, the Senate Committee on University Planning (SCUP) advised that, in response to the Board's referral of medical tuition fees beyond 1999-2000 back to Senate, the Committee will look broadly at the question of student finances, debt-load levels and OSAP default rates. Their review will be across all programs, both undergraduate and graduate. A special working group will be constituted to gather data over the summer. The issue will not be brought forward for substantial discussion at either SCUP or Senate until the fall at the earliest.
The Board was informed that the Property & Finance Committee has awarded the Consultant Contract for the renovations to the Medical Sciences Building to the design team led by Malhotra Nicholson Architects Inc. The commission will include updating a previous report and developing a detailed phased implementation plan at a cost of $37,500, and design services for the first phase of the project at 7.76% of the total construction cost.
The Board was advised of an accident involving a fall by a temporary employee which resulted in a broken hip. A detailed report has been forwarded to the Ministry of Labour as well as to the University's Health and Safety Committee.
Annex 1 to Appendix II contains the report on new and revised scholarships, awards, and prizes that have been approved by the Property & Finance Committee on behalf of the Board of Governors.
On behalf of the Senior Operations Committee, it was moved by W. Gibson, seconded by S. Adams,
That the Board of Governors of the University advise the Principal and Board of Huron College that the University has no objection to the College adopting the name "The University of Huron College" through an amendment to its Act, on the understanding that Huron College/The University of Huron College will not seek to acquire the power to grant degrees other than degrees in divinity as currently provided in the Huron College Act, 1975.
CARRIED
The Senior Operations Committee reported the following appointments to external bodies:
• Dr. Carol Herbert, Dean-Elect of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has been nominated to replace Dr. R.Y. McMurtry on the Robarts Research Institute Board of Directors, effective September 1, 1999.
• Dr. Carol Herbert, Dean-Elect of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, has been appointed to replace Dr. R.Y. McMurtry on the Siebens-Drake Research Institute Board of Directors, effective September 1, 1999.
The Board received information on the following items referred by Senate. Additional details are provided in Appendix IV.
(Signed by)
W.W. Peel, Chair
J.K. Van Fleet, Secretary of the Board