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To.................. SENATE
SIMON FRASER
MEMORANDUM
UNIVERSITY
?
S,75,154
From....R..
I.
SCHIFFER, SENATOR
...........................................................................................................................
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.......
...
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Subject
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGENDA AND RULES
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Date ?
OCTOBER 15,
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1975
- TERMS OF OFFICE
MOTION:
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"That the terms of office for the elected positions
on the Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules (SCAR)
be two years."
Note: ?
The intent is that the terms of office now show as being to
September 30, 1977 for the three Senator and one Student
Senator elected positions.
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SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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So 75
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MEMORANDUM
To............... SENATE ........................................................................................... ..
?
From .........
Roger
. ..Schif.fer.,....Senator
Subject..Se..
.ate .... C.te.e......on .... Agenda
Rale.s
.....
?
& ...
Date....
...
.
October15........19.75... ....
................
...........................
MOTION: "That the terms of office for the elected positions
on the Senate Committee on Agenda and Rules (SCAR)
be two years."
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0
SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
To ......................... .EN
.
..
?
.................... .
?
From ........
Roger . .S.chi.ff.er,.,. .... Senator
Subject.fl..te .... C.te.?.. .....
.On .... Agenda .... & ... Rules ......... ... ?
Date .....
...October
...15.,....1.9.7.5 ............................... .....................
In reviewing the committee changes suggested by the Senate Commi-
ttee on Committees and approved by Senate at the September meeting,
it became evident that I and others had not given any considera-
tion to the large number of committee positions which have an un-
limited term of office. Once we noted this ommission on our
part we set about assessing the impact of this situation.
In most cases the committees involved were not sufficiently impor-
tant to warrant asking Senate at this early date to review its
recent decision, and we felt that time would tell whether limi-
tations on terms would improve committee functioning. In other
cases the majority of positions depended on one's position on
faculty curriculum committees, or one's position as Dean, etc.
In only one committee did we consider it important that Senate
set a limit on term of office right now. This was the Senate
Committee on Agenda and Rules (SCAR), and our suggestion to
Senate is based on the particular role of this committee in
shaping Senate deliberations and the structure of Senate committees.
It is possible that Senators elected to SCAR by this Senate may
retain their positions on Senate for a number of years, and even-
tually no longer reflect the attitudes of a future Senate. Leaving
these positions as permanent sinecures hamstrings the ability of
future Senates to go about their business in a flexible manner,
suited to then current needs and styles.
In its function as an agenda setting body, this committee should
be in a position to recognize and react to current priorities
and to ensure that Senate can deal with the business it needs to.
Although it is not necessarily a requirement for seniority on
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committees, it is indeed possible that people with permanent po-
sitions may develop an obstructionist manner contrary to the best
interests of Senate. Such people may also be less willing to re-
examine rules andto suggest new procedures which may be critical
to the wellbeing and relevance of this body.
Most importantly, this committee has now been charged with a
periodic review of the Senate committee structure and should be
in a position to sweep out deadwood and to recognize new needs,
as well as new sources of energy, in the same constructive manner
that the Senate Committee on Committees has managed to do.
I am not trying to suggest that five or six years service on
Senate ensures powerseeking, intractability and overall deterio-
ration of one's emotional and intellectijal faculties, but rather
that Senate will benefit from the ability to periodically recon-
sider those it elects to SCAR. If the members are still serving
with the same zeal and understanding they showed when elected they
will probably be reelected. Otherwise Senate will be able to cI)oose
those better suited to the serious tasks set for SCAR; tasks which
are more than ever central to the effectiveness of Senate.
p.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGENDA AND
RULES (SCAR) -
standing
(Reporting Category "A")
Members
Conditions
Term
Expiry
Date
Name
President
Ex-officio - Chairman
P. Jewett
Vice-President,
Academic
Ex-officio - Vice-Chairman
B.
G.
Wilson
Registrar
Ex-officio
H. M.
Evans
Director,
Secretariat and
Office Services Ex-officio
H.
D.
Nagel
Senator
Elected
2
years
Sep
30177
D. R.
Birch
Senator
by
2
years
Sep
30177
R.
C. Brown
Senator
and from
2
years
Sep
30177
J.P.M.
Mackauer
Senator ?
Senate ?
2
years Sep
30177
M. Shillow
(Student)
TERMS OF REFERENCE:
i)
To advise the Chairman in determining the items for the Open and
Closed agendas of Senate.
ii)
To recommend to Senate rules and procedures for the conduct of its
business.
iii) To periodically review the structure and terms of reference of the
various standing committees of Senate, and to make recommendations
to Senate as appropriate.
iv) To consider and take action on behalf of the Senate by referring to
the appropriate Senate Committee or Senate all matters that may be
referred to the Senate by the Board (See Univ. Act, Section 37 p).
Original approved by Senate September 9,
1968. Revision approved by Senate May 7,
1973. Membership and terms of reference
revised September 8, 1975.
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