S.06-1O9
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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University Secretariat
MEMORANDUM
To:
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Senate
From:
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Alison Watt, Director, University Secretariat
Subject ?
Scheduling of Senate meetings
Date: ?
5 September, 2006
Notice of Motion
Time of Senate meetings
A senator recently raised the issue of the difficulty of engaging faculty in governance
and service roles in the University. As evidence of this, it was noted that all the Faculty
Senator positions, except one, were elected by acclamation this spring.
One problem that has frequently been raised as a barrier to involvement in Senate has
been the timing of Senate - scheduled in the evening since 1965. This item has been
considered a couple of times by Senate but has been rejected in the past.
The original rationale for the evening meetings has been that it would not conflict with
classes. However, this is not the case now. SFU runs classes until 10 p.m. and there is
no time that this would be "class-free".
Another concern is the availability of off campus members of Senate. In a recent change
to the University Act, the Government eliminated four of the eight off-campus members
of Senate (the Order-in-Council members) and currently there are four Convocation
Senators, two of whom are connected to the campus and two who are employed off
campus. The Convocation elections will take place in 2008 and if the change in the
time is approved by Senate, we can ensure that candidates are aware of the new times.
Some of the advantages include:
a)
Consistency of time. Senators and staff would know that the meeting was
scheduled at the new time, rather than the fluctuation between 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
that we have seen frequently in the last few years.
b)
Making Senate more visible and accessible to the community by having it held in
the day-time when more people are around.
c)
Service on Senate is a service to the University that is one of the responsibilities
of faculty members and it should be included within the regular work-day, as are all
Senate's committees.
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Room 3186, Strand Hall
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8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6
d)
A 2:30 p.m. start would allow for Senate meetings to end at 5:30 p.m. in time for
people
e)
to
The
collect
elimination
their children
of the Senate
from Childcare.dinner
would
?
be a cost saving.
I*
SCAR is agreeable to having this debated at Senate in October with a suitable motion
which would include an automatic review of the time of Senate in May 2009.
r
/
L
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Room 3186, Strand Hall
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8888 University Drive, Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6
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