APPROVED BY SENATE
Minutes of a Meeting of the Senate of Simon Fraser University held on
Monday, June 10, 2013 at 5:30 pm at the West Mall Complex (Room 3210)
Open Session
Present:
Andrew Petter, President and Chair
Birmingham, Elina
Chapman, Glenn
Clapp, Alex (for John Pierce)
Corbett, Kitty
Driver, Jon
Easton, Stephen
Eckman, Charles
Eikerling, Michael
Flodr, Sarah-Sophia
Francis, June
Geisler, Cheryl
Gordon, Robert
Jawanda, Harvey
Jermias, Johnny
Kopahi, Moe
Kwon, Caleb
Laitsch, Dan
Lehal, Japreet
Leznoff, Daniel
Lu, Yoko
Magnusson, Kris
McFetridge, Paul (for John Craig)
Myers, Gordon
Norouzi, Yasmine
Pappas, Panayiotis
Parkhouse, Wade
Paterson, David
Percival, Colin
Percival, Paul
Perry, Tom
Rajapakse, Nimal
Ruben, Peter
Schellenberg, Betty
Shaffer, Catherine
Shapiro, Daniel
Shapiro, Lisa
Somers, Julian
Tingling, Peter
Truong, Tesicca
Warner, D’Arcy
Kate Ross, Registrar and Executive Director, Student Enrolment
Kris Nordgren, Recording Secretary
Absent:
Acierno, Kyle
Antle, Alissa
Brennand, Tracy
Burley, David
Cupples, Claire
Delgrande, Jim
Elle, Elizabeth
Golnaraghi, Farid
Hedley, Nick
Jozaghi, Ehsan
Kessler, Anke
Khan, Humza
Leacock, Tracey
McRae, Jennifer
O’Neil, John
Pavsek, Christopher
Pinto, Mario
Quarmby, Lynne
Shaw, Chris
Taylor, Carole
Thiara, Karanvir Singh
Wakarchuk, Forrest
Wussow, Helen
In Attendance:
Bell, KC
Steenkamp, Philip
S.M. June 10, 2013
Page 2
1.
Approval of the Agenda
The agenda was approved as distributed.
2.
Minutes of the Open Session on May 21, 2013
The minutes of the open session on May 21, 2013 were approved as distributed, with some minor
corrections.
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
There was no business arising from the minutes.
4.
Report of the Chair
The Chair, on behalf of Senate, welcomed the following new and re-elected Senators:
Faculty Senators
: Stephen Easton; Michael Eikerling; Johnny Jermias; Anke Kessler; Daniel
Laitsch; Panayiotis Pappas; Lisa Shapiro; Julian Somers.
Students
: Kyle Acierno; Sarah-Sophia Flodr; Harvy Jawanda; Ehsan Jozaghi; Humza Khan; Moe
Kopahi; Caleb Kwon; Japreet Lehal; Yoko Lu; Yasmine Norouzi; Catherine Shaffer; Karanvir
Singh Thiara; Tesicca Truong; Forrest Wakarchuk.
The Chair reported that three key positions in the new cabinet of British Columbia have been
filled: the new Minister of Advanced Education is the Honourable Amrik Virk, an MLA from
Surrey and an SFU alumnus; the new Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services
is the Honourable Andrew Wilkinson; and the new Minister of International Trade and Minister
Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism is the Honourable Teresa Wat.
The Chair reported that SFU was successful in the recent SSHRC Insight Development Grant
competition, with a 38% success rate.
5.
Question Period
There were no questions submitted for question period.
6.
Reports of Committees
A)
Senate Committee on International Activity (SCIA)
i)
SCIA Terms of Reference Changes (S.13-86)
Motion
Moved by J. Driver, seconded by M. Kopahi.
“That Senate approves the changes to the membership of SCIA as outlined in the accompanying
document "Proposed SCIA Terms of Reference".”
A question was asked whether the new membership included a faculty member from Lifelong
Learning. Senate was informed that the new membership would include a faculty member from
Lifelong Learning.
A suggestion was made to remove the text “plus an alternate” from the membership list because
the alternate members of SCIA are not elected. Senate was informed that this change would be
made.
S.M. June 10, 2013
Page 3
B)
Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies (SCUS)
i)
Curriculum Revisions – Beedie School of Business (S.13-87)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made revisions to existing programs in the Beedie School of Business.
ii)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology (S.13-88)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made revisions to existing courses and programs in the Faculty of
Communication, Art and Technology.
iii)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Education (S.13-89)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made revisions to an existing course in the Faculty of Education.
iv)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Environment (S.13-90)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made revisions to existing courses and programs in the Faculty of
Environment (Archaeology; Geography).
v)
Curriculum Revisions – Faculty of Science (S.13-91)
Senate received information that the Senate Committee on Undergraduate Studies, acting under
delegated authority, made revisions to existing courses and programs in the Faculty of Science
(Mathematics; Molecular Biology and Biochemistry; Physics).
C)
Senate Nominating Committee (SNC)
i)
Senate Committee Elections (For Information) (S.13-92)
Senate received a summary of the nominations, positions elected by acclamation, positions
requiring an online vote, and outstanding vacancies for the Senate committees. A correction was
made to the report, removing one student’s nominations to SCIA and SCODA, which resulted in
the acclamation of all nominees to SCODA and no change to the online vote for SCIA. Senate
was informed that online voting would be held from June 11, 2013 to June 13, 2013.
7.
Other Business
i)
Sustainability Strategic Plan (For Information) (S.13-93)
Senate received the Sustainability Strategic Plan 2013 – 2016 for information.
A question was asked regarding the relationship between sustainability and experiential learning.
Senate was informed that the University offers programs that provide experiential learning
opportunities with a sustainability focus, such as the Change Lab, a program for graduate students
who want to engage with and learn about how to create change in society. A recent Change Lab
project envisioned what a sustainable SFU would look like in fifty years.
A question was asked regarding the intent of the document as a plan and whether the strategies
were actually goals or processes. Senate was informed that the plan is intended to be a first step
toward a more detailed, rigorous sustainability plan, and was developed to provide a holistic and
integrated framework for the University. The detailed plan would require a more extensive
collaboration within the groups responsible for implementation.
S.M. June 10, 2013
Page 4
A question was asked regarding the timeline for the next phase of the plan and target
measurement. Senate was informed that, in the time since the plan was approved, the senior
council has met and decided that working groups within each vice-presidential portfolio would
oversee plan development within their respective portfolios. One of the first projects expected to
be completed within the first year will be to create an inventory of current activity that will
identify all sustainability-related academic and research activity.
A question was asked regarding how much it will cost for the University to go through this
process. Senate was informed that the Sustainability Office has an operational budget of $30,000
per year; however, it was noted that sustainability does not have to cost the University more. One
example provided was the UniverCity childcare facility, which currently consumes less energy
than it contributes, recycles rain water, and was built at a cost 15% below that of a conventional
structure.
ii)
Election Report (For Information) (S.13-94)
Senate received the results of the faculty and student elections to Senate for the Summer 2013
term for information.
A comment was made that the wording of the report indicated that the candidates nominated
themselves. Senate was informed that the report would be revised.
8.
Information
i)
Date of the next regular meeting – Monday, July 8, 2013.
Open session adjourned 6:11 pm and Senate moved directly into the closed session.
Kate Ross
Registrar & Executive Director Student Enrolment
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