S.99-62
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC
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MEMORANDUM
To: ?
Senate
From: ?
J. M. Munro, Chair
Senate Committee on Academic Planning
Subject: ?
External Review - Department of Mathematics and Statistics
(SCAP Reference: SCAP 99 - 32)
Date: ?
October 14, 1999
For Information
Attached are:
the Report of the External Review Committee for the Department of
Mathematics and Statistics and the Response to the Report of the
External Review Committee
SCM'
99-32
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IFAJ
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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Date:
MR..
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Friday, May 28, 1999
To: Dr. Cohn Jones, Dean of Science
From: Len Berggren, Chair
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Subject: ?
Response to External Review
Attached please find a copy of our Department's response to the
external review. It has been generated as a result of considerable effort
by a number of working groups in the Department, each of whose reports
was discussed at a Departmental meeting. Moreover, the whole document.
was approved at the Departmental meeting of May 12.
In addition to the remarks made in the document I would like to
underline the important role that I see MITACS and PIMs playing in the
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development of the Department over the coming years, and over the next
decade the Department expects to become increasingly involved both of
these organizations. Indeed, the Department has, in comparison with other
departments across Canada, an extremely high number of its full-time
faculty members actively involved in MITACS projects, and several
successful PIMs workshops have been organized by members of our
Department. The Department also expects its industrial outreach to
continue to grow, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. All of
this means that more of our major funding and other opportunities are
likely to come from organizations committed to promoting those
mathematical sciences most closely connected to information technology,
complex systems, and industrial applications of the mathematical sciences.
(Here 'industrial' refers not only to the traditional industries of
manufacturing and natural resources but also to communications, finance,
health care, and a host of industries that have grown up around the
computer where the core ideas are mathematical and statistical.) The
Department, with its strengths in mathematics, applied and computational
mathematics, and applied statistics, and its many recent appointments in
areas central to the above developments, is ideally poised to ride the crest
of this new wave, and it plans to make its appointments in a way which
will allow it to fully participate in and contribute to the information-based
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ssociety of the coming century.
FA
I will be pleased to discuss any aspect of this document with you. If
you find it satisfactory I trust you will forward it to the appropriate
University office.
Sincerely yours,
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FIN
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Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Response to the External Review
Spring 1999
Recommendation 1: On the Roles and Operations of the Five Workshops
Regarding the role of the workshops, the Department has reaffirmed a strong commitment to the
open laboratory system and sees this as an important component both of the service we deliver to
our students and of the training we provide our graduate students as future teachers of
mathematics. Since mathematics and statistics are important subjects for the sciences, we wish to
provide science and other students who take our introductory classes a solid educational
foundation; the experience they gain in the workshops has become increasingly important
especially because of the growth in class sizes.
The workshops service our larger classes, with enrollment for MATH 151 being over 700 in the
Fall and taught by a single instructor, for example; or, consider STAT 301, a course with a heavy
experimental component, also taught by a single instructor, with enrollments over 300. Since
1993/94 the total funding for the workshops has decreased from about
$460,500
to 312,400 while
the number of students serviced by the workshops has increased from about 4,500 to 6,000. By
one standard measure of productivity (students per thousand dollars) this represents an increase in
productivity of very nearly 100%.
At the same time, the workshops have operated on the model that was in place from the beginning.
This required marking homework for the courses served, providing one-on-one tutoring for
students, marking tests for the courses served and providing the professors with a summary of the
• marks, on the basis of which they would assign grades. Because of the heavy demands placed on
the Lab Instructors, their time has been, on the whole, devoted to these activities and a variety of
service projects. And, of these activities, the marking of homework and recording grades absorbed
by far the largest share of Lab Instructors' and TAs' time.
This model has served the Department and its students well, but in these financially straitened times
it cannot continue. Our recent review of how the workshops operate resulted in the construction of
a new method of operation for the workshops, which will reduce their cost further and will have
the Laboratory Instructors more involved in teaching. (All of the Lab Instructors have advanced
degrees in Mathematics and Statistics and considerable accumulated experience and wisdom in
undergraduate instruction.) The price to be paid for these changes will be a reduced level of service
for students and faculty, and a net decrease in the overall quality of instruction.
Two new models of operation have been developed; both of these involve:
• Less time spent marking, processing assignments, and recording grades by the workshops,
more interaction with the workshops by course instructors, more sharing of acquired course
material from course instructor to instructor, and the use of examinations which are easier to
mark;
• Less interaction with the workshops by lab instructors, who will now be more involved in
lecturing; under one current proposal Laboratory Instructors would teach three three-hour
courses (or their equivalent) per year.
Recommendation
2:
On Priorities and Plans for Teaching and Graduate Supervision
The Department agrees with the Reviewers that the current listing of pure and applied mathematics
• graduate courses in the Calendar is very much in need of revision, and it has already taken steps to
eliminate seven of the twenty-four courses listed in the applied/computational area. For pure
mathematics, the Department accepts the recommendation for an
ad hoc
committee to draft a new
entry for Mathematics for the next Calendar.
c.
2
The pure mathematicians are developing a graduate program whose core will be an M.Sc. oriented
towards information technology in general and computational mathematics in particular. There will
be a two-year sequence of basic courses, the majority of these with a computational component,
and some will be designed so that a graduate student could take half the course for two hours of
credit. This will allow the student more breadth of training at the M.Sc. level. We are committed to
designing the curriculum of some of our courses so that they will appeal to students in both pure
and applied mathematics, and we are presently actively exploring with our colleagues at U.B.C.
the possibility of some joint offerings, possibly at Harbour Centre.
The Reviewers seemed largely satisfied with the curriculum side of the Statistics program. Their
concerns about increasing the computational component of some of the courses are being
addressed in specific courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. Also, the use of 4xx/8xx
courses has decreased, but there are some areas where it does seem a wise use of resources with
no sacrifice of pedagogy. Any increase in the graduate program in statistics would have to depend
on availability of increased funding or decreased completion times.
The Department is not aware of any data suggesting that its degree completion times are
inordinately long, either in comparison with other departments at SFU or in comparison with other
mathematics and statistics departments nationally. Its median time to completion of the M.Sc. is 7
semesters, and only six programs have lower medians (6 semesters, and in one case 5) but four of
those are highly structured professional programs. In addition, our Ph.D. median, 14 semesters, to
completion is as good as any one else's. It does recognize, however, the need to bring down some
of the larger numbers for given individuals in this data, and it agrees that after the first year there
should be some expectation that graduate students will be supported as other than TAs for one
semester in three. This could be on a research grant, a graduate scholarship, a graduate co-op, or
other industrial-type work, such as is provided by the statistics consulting service and have become
available in other areas with the MITACS programs. All of these should help reduce the extremes.
Recommendation 3: A five-ten year plan that addresses curriculum, resources and
staffing.
The Department notes that the plans adopted as a result of the process initiated by the External
Review will form part of its three year plan, and so will certainly be the determining factor in
planning for the next five years. Planning beyond that horizon (to ten years) is, to a great extent,
closely linked to the kinds of new faculty one hires, and the Department is now preparing for the
Dean of Science a hiring plan for the next 5 years. Beyond that, the Department as a whole is
suspicious of grand plans, which are so often changed in the light of unforeseen opportunities.
The Department is making a concerted effort to encourage cooperation between groups. This is
particularly pressing for two reasons. The first is that MITACS and PIMs both have a strong
presence at SFU and both will be encouraging a view of mathematics as a synergistic cluster of
sciences rather than competing domains of 'pure' and 'applied'. The second is that our Department
has just completed its plans (already approved in principle by the Ministry) for an Industrial
Mathematics program, whose curriculum will certainly span pure and applied mathematics as well
as statistics.
Recommendation 4: Redefine administrative functions and redefine duties to
reduce faculty members' advisory work and improve working conditions of staff
members.
When the review was done the Department was at a low ebb in terms of staffing. Shortly after the
review a resignation in the General Office gave us an opportunity to restructure jobs so that some
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• been working with the D.A. to improve backup strategies when staff are away and this, combined
with hiring a replacement for some of her duties when the D.A. is on extended holidays, should
provide better service to faculty and students and relieve staff stress related such service. It was
recognized by the Chair that the workload of the Departmental Assistant had grown too large, and
she and the Chair have been working on the revision of her job description for the past year.
Although it is felt that the addition of faculty advisors has added strength to the advising services
we are able to give our students, and this will continue, the Departmental Assistant has resumed her
advising duties and acts as a resource to faculty advisers. The new balance has certainly relieved
some of the pressure on faculty advising time. All those involved in the complex task of advising
in a Department with such a large service role for the whole university now meet each term to
discuss ways in which all involved (the Chair, the six faculty advisers, the D.A., and two
members of the office staff,) can facilitate each other's work, and these meetings have already been
productive of some good results.
The Department has taken funds from its budget to provide staff with long-awaited ergonomic desk
chairs. Although we do not have funds to provide staff with up-to-date computing equipment and
compatible versions of major software packages, we have been able to do memory upgrades for all
staff computers and are committed to looking for opportunities to address the larger problem.
Recommendation 5: Organizational position of the CECM and links between its
resources and those of the rest of the Department, and
Recommendation 9: The CECM and the rest of the Department should improve
communications with a view to optimizing the benefits the CECM could provide.
The Department agrees with the Reviewers that the CECM is a valuable resource, and both have
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decided on a number of steps that they anticipate will eliminate some of the possible causes for
misunderstanding.
i.
The ALRP should be the normal conduit through which the CECM communicates with the
Department on financial and organizational matters. The Director of the CECM should meet
each term with the ALRP to report on the CECM' s recent initiatives. Trimesterly summaries of
CECM activities should be sent to the ALRP for information. Finally, the Director of the
CECM should report once each term to the Department as a whole on the activities of the
CECM.
ii.
The CECM will identify the role of its employees with relationship to departmental duties with
a view to maximizing the benefits that these employees could offer the Department as a whole.
The Department and the CECM should make an immediate study of what would be necessary
to integrate the CECM computing network with that of the Department as a whole. This should
be done with a view to seeing what economies this might effect in the long run and what initial
outlays might be necessary to achieve such economies.
iii.
To the extent that the departmental budget remains at its present level and departmental
priorities allow, the Department should maintain its current level of support for the CECM. To
assure openness and simplicity of administration the Department should establish a specific
fund against which the CECM has signing authority.
iv.
A general policy should be negotiated between the CECM and the ALRP on the treatment of
overhead charges in CECM contracts with outside agencies.
Recommendation 6: The University should consider establishing a separate
Department of Statistics within the Faculty of Science.
The Department has already taken this quite seriously and has begun drafting a plan for the creation
of an administrative unit for Statistics, to be viewed as an intermediate step in the creation of a
Department of Statistics. The unit, whose title will be determined in consultation with the
Department Chair and the Dean, will provide support for the discipline of Statistics, for the
Statistics graduate and undergraduate students, and for other faculty at SFU with interests in the
statistics. It will serve as a vehicle to increase the profile of this emerging discipline at SFU, and to
recognize its difference and independence from mathematics, as a discipline. This is important
when dealing with clients from other departments, especially since the statisticians have built
strengths in, and nurtured the growth of, applied statistics, both in their hirings and program
content. The increased autonomy will also focus the statisticians attention on program
development and improve efficiency in such areas as program modification.
The seven and one half-time regular faculty operate as a cohesive unit and have established
research credentials. They have been heavily involved in work for national and international
Statistical Societies, for NSERC, and in the arena of public advocacy. In addition, with the
appointment of a Director of Statistics and Associate Chair last fall, Statistics has already begun to
experience freedom of movement and independent decision-making.
Some of the areas which the statisticians would like to develop are mentioned briefly here.
The stimulation of the growth of graduate and undergraduate co-op opportunities. The
Statistics degree is similar in nature to a professional accreditation and the co-op experience is
vital for the students. In this regard, note that employers sometimes state that they prefer
graduands from departments of Statistics. It will also be an invaluable recruiting tool as
statistics students appreciate the advantages of having graduated from a department where
statistics is an autonomous discipline.
• There will be an expansion of the activity of the Statistical Consulting Service (SCS) through
workshops and contracts. A graduate focus in Biostatistics will be developed. This will be
stimulated especially by the new NSERC UFA appointment in genetics and another new
appointment whose research interests include Bioinformatics. Links with Biology and
Environmental Science will be strengthened through these appointments.
• In the area of Actuarial Science the group will establish stronger ties with Business through its
recent actuarial appointment and the current search for funding for an endowed Actuarial
Professorship.
One specific course the statisticians envision developing is a first-year undergraduate course in
Statistics. This course would stress concepts and data-analysis. It would be based on
experimentation as currently very successfully used in some of the courses for the Environmental
Science program. Because of changes to the school mathematics curriculum, there is now
exposure to statistics in the high schools so it now makes sense to consider a first-year statistics
offering as a base for our programs. Also, at the graduate level we have begun experimenting
with offering our courses to graduate students at UBC, since some of our courses are unique in the
province because of our special focus in applied statistics. For example, in 1998-2, four UBC
students registered for our course in Biometrics. We plan to investigate further partnerships with
UBC in our graduate program.
These initiatives will broaden the work of the statistics group further from its mathematics base,
and autonomy would foster this kind of growth. The Statisticians have prepared a plan for the
development of the discipline of Statistics at SFU over the next five years. The essence of the
plan will give the Statistics group administrative autonomy through the creation of a Director of
Statistics with stipend equivalent to that of an Associate Chair and with teaching relief equivalent to
one course. The Director will represent the discipline to the Chair and, as required, to the Dean.
The Director may relieve the Chair of a few specific duties relating to the management of the
department as a whole, for example, replacing the Chair during his absences, but the principal duty
of the Director is management of the issues relating to Statistics. The Director would serve on the
Deans Advisory Committee to deal with Program affairs and other matters relating to Statistics.
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Note that a temporary position, similar to that described above, was created in September 1998 in
our Department.
To manage our programs directly the plan requests separate graduate studies and undergraduate
studies committees in Statistics and Actuarial Science. These will undoubtedly have good
communication links with the Mathematics graduate studies and undergraduate studies committees.
The chairs of these committees will represent Statistics at the Faculty Graduate Studies and
Undergraduate Studies committees
In order to deal with budgetary pressures and affairs in a manner more suitable for the discipline,
we request separation of budgetary items dealing with Statistics and Actuarial Science, the
statisticians and the SCS to form a budget for Statistics which will be managed by the Statistics
Budget Committee, with the Director of Statistics as Chair. This will enable us to deal with
budgetary issues concerning statistics more effectively, for example issues relating to the operation
of the statistics workshop and with the consulting service. The budget committee submits annual
reports to the Department Chair. If the Department of Mathematics and Statistics decides that a X%
cut/increase is to be met through the departmental budget, then the Statistics budget will carry its
proportionate share of X%.
We expect to create several cross-appointments to tie together those working at SFU in the
discipline, and adjunct appointments to form solid links with our industrial contacts and to allow
them an opportunity to share in the development of the discipline and to help shape the graduates
that emerge. There is significant potential for interdisciplinary and external partnerships here.
With the creation of cross-appointments we plan to explore further program development through
team-teaching and other flexible arrangements with other departments. For example, we have
already been exploring the use of web-based and other innovational instructional approaches with
• some success, and would like to further this development. We will be able to present more
credibly our applied nature to other departments, to researchers both on and off campus, and to our
external contacts, and to pursue joint positions more effectively.
Recommendation 7: Review of administrative and technical support for computing
and funding for a continuing staff position in system administration.
The Department's study of this matter indicates that there is a clear present need for a full-time
UNIX system administrator to service its more than
50
machines. Indeed, the computer network
plays the same role for the modern mathematical sciences that laboratories do for physical sciences.
There is, in addition, a need for ongoing support of the Department's administrative and
workshop Macintosh-based computing systems, and, to a much lesser extent, of a few faculty
Macintosh machines. As an interim move to a continuing position the Department has decided to
offer a two-year contract for a UNIX System Administrator, the salary being funded from a
combination of departmental funds and research grants (as technical support). On the basis of our
experience with this arrangement we will, near the end of the two-year period, reconsider the issue
of a continuing position in systems administration.
Recommendation 8: Permanent position for Director of SCS.
The Department believes that the Statistical Consulting Service provides valuable training for
graduate students in statistics. It also provides important services to graduate students and faculty
of other departments, and is an important part of our outreach and service to the
business/government community. The Department agrees with the recommendation of the External
Review and it will be making a serious effort to obtain ongoing funding for the position of
Director.
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David P. Gagan
Vice-President, Academic
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Vice-President, Academic
Response to the Report of the Review Committee
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For Mathematics and Statistics
The Report of the review committee for the Department of Mathematics and
Statistics generally describes a department that is healthy, vigorous and of good
quality in all its areas of academic activity. The reviewers' critical observations,
and their formal recommendations, for the most part focus on essential house-
keeping matters that the department simply appears to have deferred. These
include: curriculum rationalization; renewal, and modernization; a re-
evaluation of graduate student support and completion times; faculty workload
disparities; better communications between the department and those university
departments/ programs for whom it provides service courses; and the role of
sessional instructors. A somewhat more serious matter appears to be
administrative morale and potential administrative dysfunction within the
department.
More critical is the reviewers' perception that the department lacks a dear
forward plan that enunciates a vision for the future and a strategy for achieving a
set of essential objectives that might include: the creation of a separate
Department of Statistics or Actuarial Science; a faculty renewal plan based on
the desirability of building bridges to link individual curriculum and research
interests across the breadth of the disciplines as defined by a more modern,
integrated curriculum; and the desirability of defining more rigorously the links
between the department and CECM in order to establish a more symbiotic,
mutually beneficial relationship.
The department, in consultation with the Dean of the Faculty of Science, should
be encouraged to revise and extend its current three-year plan - looking towards
its next review - in a way that addresses these critical issues.
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REPORT OF THE EXTERNAL REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR THE
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DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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B. Keyfitz
J. Lawless (Chair)
M. Plischke (Internal member)
H. Williams
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April 13, 1998
191
Executive Summary
Through its reading of the Department's self-study document and other
material, and through interviews with faculty, staff, students and alumni of the
university, the Review Committee formed an impression of a department with
many strengths in research, teaching and service. Areas where improvements
could be made also caught our attention. This report summarizes our
impressions and conclusions; separate sections address Programs, Faculty,
Administration, and Outreach and Collaboration. In concordance with our terms
of reference, much of the discussion and the nine recommendations deal with
suggestions for improvement, but we hope it is clear that there is much to
admire.
The Department runs programs in mathematics, statistics, and actuarial
science. The programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels are good,
but in the pure and applied mathematics areas there is a need for revision of
curriculum to provide broader coverage of important areas and to reflect changes
in faculty interests. The availability and scheduling of courses in all areas also
needs attention. Recommendations 1 and 2 urge the Department to review its
plans for teaching and to develop a vision and priorities for the next five years.
The quality of the faculty members in the Department is high, with some
very strong researchers and good teachers. The Centre for Experimental and
Constructive Mathematics (CECM) is an important new research presence that
has a high profile externally. The primary issues that we identify as needing
attention deal with breadth and renewal; it is not clear that the department has a
clear vision for faculty renewal nor for the mentoring of its next generation of
leaders. This is not unrelated to uncertainties about teaching priorities mentioned
in the preceding paragraph. Recommendation 3 urges the development of a
coherent five to ten year plan.
In the Administration area we perceived several important issues. One
concerns inadequacies in administrative support that have created workload and
morale problems; see Recommendation 4. A second deals with the organizational
position of the CECM and links between its resources and those of the
department proper; Recommendation 5 suggests that these be clarified. A third
issue concerns the desire of the Statistics group to form a separate department;
we support the general principle and in Recommendation 6 suggest that this be
considered. Finally, we considered the role of two staff positions: a computing
system administrator and a Statistics Consulting Service director. Both positions
are important to the mission of the Department, and Recommendations 7 and 8
support their continuation.
The Department has a strong record of outreach and collaboration in
research, teaching and service. The most important issue is an internal one and
concerns the relationship between the department and the CECM. Some friction
seems to exist, and it does not appear that a real sense of collaboration and
communication has emerged. Recommendation 9 addresses this.
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1. Introduction
The Review Committee visited the Simon Fraser University campus from
March 18-20, during which time it met with University administration; faculty,
staff and students inside the Department of Mathematics and Statistics; faculty
and students from other departments; and alumni of the Department. These
meetings, the Department's self-study document and various other pieces of
information portrayed a department staffed with many excellent people, and one
which offers programs that are perceived by its students and alumni as being of
very good quality. We were struck by the collegial atmosphere in the
department and the respect that its members have for one another. The
Department also collaborates in numerous teaching ventures with other
departments, and is expanding its outreach through the activities of several of
the mathematicians and statisticians in the department, through the newly
established Centre for Constructive and Experimental Mathematics (CECM), and
through its membership in the Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS).
There are, however, areas which are running less smoothly or where.
planning and decisive action seem to be lacking. These touch all aspects of the
department: personnel, curriculum, and resources. In this report we identify
what we perceive to be the most crucial problems and issues. The Department
appears to recognize most, and perhaps all, of the issues, but our addressing
them here should serve to emphasize their importance. The fact that we use more
space discussing problem areas than in praising excellent activities is based on
principles of constructive criticism and the fact that we have been asked to make
recommendations on opportunities for improvement. We hope that we have
made clear the many areas in which we feel the Department and its members
excel.
Sections follow on Programs, Faculty, Administration, and Outreach and
Collaboration. Recommendations are collected in a final section.
2.
Programs
2.1 Undergraduate Programs
The Department offers or participates in a wide variety of undergraduate
programs. The joint programs in Environmental Science, Management and
Systems Science, Mathematical Physics, and Mathematics and Computing
Science appear very sound. General satisfaction was expressed by students and
collaborating departments, aside from a few concerns about scheduling and
about the need for better communication among program partners in some
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cases. It is recognized that this is not the sole responsibility of Mathematics and
Statistics. Additional comments about service courses are made in Section 5.
7/
The remainder of our remarks concern the main departmental programs
in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science.
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The Mathematics lower division courses with their emphasis on analysis
and linear algebra seem appropriate to the department's evident mission to
produce a good grounding in the fundamentals of mathematics. The upper
division courses, while good in themselves, do not cover as much of mathematics
as they might. For example, we noted that there seemed to be little available to
students interested in topology or geometry. This, of course, is to some degree
understandable given the interests of the faculty members and the resources
available to the department, but it still seems that though what the students get
in the Major or Honours programs in Mathematics is of good quality, it is also
somewhat narrow. In a subject as broad as mathematics this is something of a
disadvantage to students who might be seeking a postgraduate degree in another
institution. Also, the calendar lists many courses as available to undergraduates,
but it appeared to us that only a few of these seem to be offered, particularly in
the pure mathematics area. It would be a good idea for the Department to review
its undergraduate offerings with a view to producing a list of courses which
cover more of mathematics and can actually be made available. We realize that
this is not an easy matter, but the attempt might produce some very positive
results.
In applied mathematics, there are a number of undergraduate tracks,
including a major in Applied Mathematics, and Honours in Applied
Mathematics, Mathematical Physics or Mathematics and Computing Science.
The programs are solid and rigorous, though rather classical. Since the faculty
voiced the opinion that the program needed revising, and since the students
remarked that the program no longer matched what was in fact scheduled, we
should perhaps just encourage the revisions that seem to be beginning. There are
a couple of specific areas where the offerings could usefully be updated: a course
in nonlinear dynamics or dynamical systems (this could be an alternative to the
ordinary differential equations course which emphasizes linear theory, or could
replace some of the material in that course), and a course in mathematical
modelling ( this is mentioned in the industrial mathematics proposal). The
courses on the books offer an odd mixture of topics aimed at specific fields
("Mechanics of Deformable Media") which use particular mathematics (boundary
value problems in this case) and mathematical techniques ("Variational
Calculus") which are used in particular fields (mechanics in this case). Most
likely, modernizing and rationalizing the whole set of offerings would be
superior to superimposing further courses on this already lengthy list.
The Statistics Honours and Major programs are reasonably
comprehensive, given the available resources, and should prepare students well
either for careers after a bachelor's degree or for graduate study. The honours
program has a few gaps. In particular, it is desirable to expose students to more
topics in stochastic processes and applied probability, statistical computing and
simulation. In addition, the nonparametric statistics course (Stat 420) appears
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. rather old-fashioned; modern computer-intensive methods such as smoothing
and nonparametric regression could be introduced here. The fact that the
program has a very full mathematics component, and that there is a course on
decision theory and Bayesian methods provides options for adding new topics
without an increase in resources: it is likely that some of this material could be
trimmed without decreasing the quality of the program.
The existing Actuarial Science Certificate program and the proposed
honours program have good modern curricula, and there is a strong interest
from students. Although some emphasis on professional actuarial examinations
is appropriate, this should not in our opinion be given too much weight. The
program should continue to provide a broad education in actuarial science,
mathematics, statistics and business, and to prepare students for a variety of
careers in which actuarial training is important. A point that we stress in Section
3.3 is that in order to mount an honours program it is important to have at least
one full time professorial position in actuarial science.
The proposed Industrial Mathematics program seems comprehensive and
well balanced. We note the need to introduce new topics or courses in some parts.
of mathematics and statistics; for example, statistical computing, simulation,
stochastic modelling, time series and process control are valuable statistical tools
in industrial settings. In the mathematics areas, courses emphasizing modelling
are needed. This is a promising new initiative, given the Department's interest in
co-op programs and its outreach to industry and the public sector.
Finally, we draw attention to the Department's workshops in Applied
Calculus (ACW), Basic Mathematics (BMW), Calculus and Linear Algebra
(CLAW), Statistics (SW) and Computer-Aided Tutoring (WCAT). The first three
are used on a drop-in basis for tutoring and general assistance, and for collecting
assignments. We saw evidence that ACW, BMW, CLAW and SW, each of which
has a dedicated Laboratory Instructor (Li) and teaching assistants (TAs), are
heavily utilized and well-received by students, in spite of over-crowding in some
cases. The degree of collaboration between Us and faculty members responsible
for courses that utilize the workshops is unclear to us, as are mechanisms for
setting priorities or new directions in the operation of the workshops. In
addition, WCAT appears to be used much less than the other workshops, and
we did not perceive a clear vision for what it hopes to achieve. We are not
suggesting that the workshops necessarily need major alterations, but periodic
reviews of their roles and methods of operation would seem valuable.
Recommendation 1: The Department should review the roles and operations of
the five Workshops in order to adopt a clear vision for them over the next five
years, and to integrate this with overall resource allocation decisions involving
teaching.
.
1'•
2.2 Graduate
The Department
Programs
?
has graduate programs in (Pure) Mathematics, Applied
0
and Computational Mathematics, and Statistics, supported by a strong group of
faculty members. We will address each area briefly.
The "Pure" component of the Department lists a fairly large number (25)
of graduate-level courses, not including seminar, practicum and thesis courses,
which are available to graduate students. The courses that are offered appear of
high quality and are presented by very capable people. However, both the
faculty and students mentioned that few of the listed courses are ever offered at
any given time and several never seem to be offered. This projects a misleading
impression of the graduate program and can be an irritation to students. This
component of the Department should revamp its graduate offerings so that the
list reflects the reality of the program; this process may have already begun. The
Committee was also told that a plan for a "computational" masters degree in
pure mathematics was being developed. This could be a positive step in the
revisions for the graduate mathematics curriculum.
In the same vein, the 24 Applied Mathematics graduate courses listed in
the catalogue no longer represent the interests of the faculty; on the one hand,
they suggest extensive interest in continuum mechanics, now represented by a
single faculty member; on the other hand, they do not do justice to the
computational fluid dynamics and numerical linear algebra programs of current
faculty. Not surprisingly, the applied analysis, partial differential equations, and
modelling interests of the new applied mathematics faculty are not yet
represented at all in research level courses.
The sizes of the student population in the mathematics areas seems
appropriate to the faculty complement and the demand for graduates. Our
impression is that there is a sizeable group of very talented students, who are
able to move on to good positions after graduation.
The Statistics Masters Program emphasizes applied work. This is
appropriate, given the interests of faculty and the strong demand for applied
statisticians. The Department is to be commended for the way that it has built
the co-op option; this is very valuable for an applied program. A small Ph.D
program is also in place. The course offerings are reasonably adequate at the
Masters level, though as for the undergraduate programs, more exposure to
computer-intensive methods, statistical computing, simulation and stochastic
modelling seems desirable. The courses appear to be well received by students,
though some concerns were expressed about the level of courses that are taught
jointly as Masters and fourth year offerings. The Ph.D program is viable, given
the strong research programs of faculty members, but clearly has to focus on a
few specific areas. There are very few advanced level courses available for Ph.D
students, except as directed reading courses. Enrolments in the Masters and
Ph.D programs are satisfactory, though there is the capacity and the demand for
a modest increase in the number of Masters students.
jiLl.
The completion times
for
both Masters and Ph.D students are quite long in
many cases. This seems partly to be a function of the low tuition fees and the fact
that students are provided with TA support well beyond when they would be at
most institutions. In spite of the demand for TAs to service courses, one might
question whether this is in the best interests of the students. TAs work rather
long hours, and more balanced financial support based on TAs and research
assistantships would provide broader experience and allow faster progress,
particularly for students working on theses.
2.3 Discussion
The Department offers a very broad range of programs, given its size. Co-
op programs are also popular, and Simon Fraser University has a trimester
system. The practical experience provided by co-op and the flexibility of the
trimester system are two of the University's major strengths and are much
appreciated by students. The down side includes staffing and scheduling
difficulties which affect both students and faculty. We heard numerous
comments from students about difficulties in getting needed courses, and we
note the Department's relatively high dependence on sessional teaching,
especially in statistics and actuarial science. Many faculty members are moreover
"owed" a substantial number of course hours at present. At the same time, the
• Department is contemplating expansion in some areas, such as industrial
mathematics and biostatistics. It is not clear to us that the resource issues
associated with current and proposed programs have been adequately
addressed. A modest expansion of the faculty complement in both mathematics
and statistics is desirable and would alleviate some of the problems described,
but we are aware that the University's resources are limited and perhaps
shrinking. Requests for increased resources must obviously be made very
convincingly.
Recommendation 2: The Department should develop priorities and plans for
teaching and graduate supervision in accordance with the resources available; it
would be sensible to do this under a number of funding and staffing
scenarios.
3. Faculty
3.1 Quality of Research and Research Support
The faculty divides itself into three groups - applied, pure and statistics,
while recognizing that the first two are not as clearly delineated nor as aptly
named as the third. The level of research is high, includes a large majority of the
faculty, is funded for the most part, and involves graduate students to a very
• healthy degree. The fact that the department was able to attract two star
researchers (Jonathan and Peter Borwein) five years ago should not eclipse
previous research accomplishments. In the pure mathematics area this includes
/ 15.,
the work of a group in logic, with Lachlan an FRSC and arguably the most
eminent logician in Canada, and in combinatorics, with Aispach and Hell
prominent members of a connected group of five (the others are Brown, Goddyn,
and Heinrich). Reilly and Thomson carry out research and supervision in algebra
and analysis, respectively. Berggren and Gerber provide strength in history of
mathematics and mathematical education.
The group identified as "applied" remains active in classical applied
mathematics, with senior researchers in continuum mechanics (Graham),
electromagnetism (Shen) and mathematical physics (Das and Pechianer). The
group also boasts a senior numerical analyst (Russell), and two mid-career
researchers, Tang (computational fluid dynamics) and Trummer (numerical
analysis, especially spectral methods), who are building international reputations
in fields of great current interest. The applied group has been revitalised in the
last three years with the arrival of three excellent young researchers, Promislow,
Kropinski and Choksi, who work in related areas of nonlinear analysis, nonlinear
optics, modern fluid dynamics and materials science, and large-scale
computation.
Jon and Peter Borwein are outstanding researchers who between them
cover many areas of analysis, number theory, computation, and optimization.
Jon is the Department's second FRSC, currently holds a Shrum Chair, and has
established the Centre for Experimental and Constructive Mathematics (CECM),
of which he is the Director. The CECM has a most impressive research program,
part of which involves the development of new paradigms for mathematics
research, using high-performance computing and software tools to obtain results
in core mathematics. Michael Monagan is a new faculty member associated with
and partially supported by the CECM; his area is symbolic computation. Other
activities include research on imaging problems and the development of systems
for the deployment and communication of mathematical and computational tools
over the internet.
Several individual faculty members have outstanding international
reputations, are frequent conference speakers, and members of many prestigious
editorial boards. Heinrich is currently President of the Canadian Mathematics
Society. The new hires in applied mathematics display outstanding potential,
with Promislow a recipient of NATO and NSF Postdoctoral awards, and
Kropinski of an NSERC Women's Faculty award. Of the 24 mathematicians in
the Department, 18 currently have NSERC funding. Very substantial funding
has also been obtained by the CECM. It is a major research presence on a scale
which is unusual in a Canadian mathematics department.
The statisticians also form a strong research group, with activity in both
theoretical and applied areas. Major strengths are in biometry and animal
ecology (Routledge, Schwarz), biostatistics and public health (Dean), asymptotic
theory (Lockhart), goodness-of fit (Lockhart, Professor Emeritus Stephens),
statistical computing (Swartz), survey sampling and experimental design (Sitter),
?
Is
/IIP.
. and education (Weldon). Six out of the eight individuals have NSERC Research
Grants; their support is well above the national average for the statistical
sciences, with Sitter, Routledge and Lockhart the top three. Sitter is one of the
top two or three in Canada in his cohort.
Four of the eight statisticians (actually 7.5 positions) have served on
NSERC grant selection committees or panels, and several are associate editors of
major journals. The group has also made substantial contributions to specific
areas of science, for example disease epidemiology (Dean), animal population
biology and resource management (Routledge and Schwarz), official statistics
and industrial statistics (Sitter), and forestry (Weldon). Finally, the group has an
outstanding record of professional service in Canadian and international
statistics organizations. Lockhart is Past- President of the Statistical Society of
Canada.
While overall research funding in the department is good , the Review
Committee was struck by the apparent paucity of RA funding. It appeared that
most students, aside from scholarship holders, are supported primarily by TAs.
3.2 Teaching and Internal Service
Anecdotal evidence from students that we interviewed indicated general
. satisfaction with the quality of teaching in the Department. We did not see,
however, any direct information relating to the evaluation of teaching, though
the University's planning documents emphasize this.
We heard complaints of an increasing workload. On the other hand, the
WICH ratio, 10.35 hours, appears to be lower than the overall Faculty ratio,
which on average seems to have been over 11.5 hours (and jumped to 12.5 in the
most recent year). The department maintains a balance sheet of teaching
obligations, which shows it currently to be in debt to almost every faculty
member. Either for this or other reasons, faculty are concerned about trends.
While the current instructional workload appears reasonable to us, and appears
to allow sufficient time for research, scholarship and a good level of service,
levels for each individual should clearly be monitored. We note that there do not
seem to be any differential teaching loads to reflect levels of research
productivity or graduate supervision. It is unclear whether this enters into
service assignments, but we note that some productive researchers have quite
heavy service obligations.
The Lab Instructors lecture in addition to running their respective
workshops, but we did not hear concerns about workload from them. (As staff
members, their hours of employment may be more formally set than those of
faculty, however.) It also deserves comment that, as is not unusual, the
department contains some spousal and family connections. We presume that
. ?
assignment of duties and reviews are done by a person at arm's length in each
instance.
i / q.
The reliance on sessional teaching in the Department seems high,
particularly in statistics and in actuarial science. This is expected in actuarial
science, but otherwise attempts should be made to decrease the dependence on
sessionals. Whether some of the dependence is a temporary consequence of
many faculty members being "owed" teaching credits is not clear. We once again
draw attention to Recommendation 2 in Section 2.3.
The service workload is moderately high; some faculty, especially, in
statistics are carrying a heavy committee and administrative load. We could not
assess how much of this is due to current deficits in administrative support,
which we discuss in Section 4.1. Most of the service seems important and useful,
including the careful monitoring of the many interdisciplinary undergraduate
programs. Faculty seconded to service tasks appear to be doing an outstanding
job. The incentive and reward structure in the department ought to recognize
this; it is not clear that it always does.
The recent addition of a high-profile research presence (the CECM) with a
style which is new to the department, which is seen to be quite highly rewarded,
and which operates in a manner quite different from earlier research groups has
perhaps also increased tension. Several issues have arisen from the
disequilibrium associated with the formation of the CECM, including equity,
trust and communication; we address this later in the report. It is critical to the
success of the CECM and of the department that these issues be dealt with
positively.
We were asked to comment separately on the "teaching, research and
service contributions of faculty members, including involvement in the CECM".
We interpret this as asking us to assess the relation of the current and projected
research, teaching and service of the department as a whole to the mission of the
CECM. Besides assessing the role that faculty are playing in the success of the
CECM, the Review Committee also considered contributions of the CECM to the
success of the research programs of individual department members, in
particular, any efforts at research collaborations, revitalization, or support of
research in the department.
The Director and Associate Director currently each have low teaching
loads, so are compensated for service time spent on the Centre. They are no
doubt primarily responsible for the exceptional level of activity and success of
the Centre to this point. The CECM includes graduate students, postdoctoral
fellows and visitors and is thus a vital research presence. However, it appears to
us that at present the CECM is an important, but specialized, research
component of the department. While it has had considerable success and an
impact on several areas of mathematics, the research of most faculty members
continues on a separate track, and so far the degree of involvement with the
Centre seems rather small. Some interactions are beginning to take place, but
there was a feeling among mathematics faculty that more could be done by the
Centre. That said, it appears that faculty have not yet taken maximum
opportunity to find out what the CECM does, or to access its computing facilities,
/I.
• attend colloquia and interact with its visitors. Further, the Department does not
appear to have a clear vision of the CECM's future role. At the same time, the
CECM has quite a clear vision concerning research and outreach outside the
department, but we did not see anything that addresses its roles in teaching or
service within the Department. We consider this issue again in Section 5.
3.3 Breadth and Renewal
While the quality of faculty currently is high, the Department anticipates a
number of retirements, including those of some outstanding faculty, in about five
years. Since, according to SFU's planning priorities, "The VP Academic will look
for ways to fund the bridging of positions to future retirements", it would be
appropriate for the Department to begin planning now. The review committee
heard many references to the impending retirements, but relatively little
discussion of a bridge to the
future.
To this committee, it does not appear that the split between "applied" and
"departmental" mathematics, which may have been appropriate when there was
a small group doing classical engineering-oriented applied mathematics,
continues to be justified when there is now a substantial group doing applied
analysis, with strong intellectual links to core mathematics, as well as a strong
computational effort in the rest of the department, with at least functional links
• to the applied group. We have the impression that the two groups do not, by and
large, talk to each other, or follow each other's research and educational progress.
For example, the graduate course offerings are all distinct, and do not reflect the
fact that recent faculty additions have interests that overlap both areas. The
committee identifies as a priority the need for the two groups to co-operate, and
for department-wide planning for bridging hires in the near term and
replacements in three to five years. The department must assert its collective
responsibility for the whole breadth of mathematics. Areas that now need or will
soon need faculty to handle undergraduate teaching are algebra, geometry and
differential equations; areas that would contribute to current strengths in
research and graduate training, without duplicating them, include algebraic
geometry, topology, functional analysis, optimization, dynamical systems,
mathematical biology, and control theory. While it is not possible for every
current research area to be represented in the department, these are areas in
which well-trained and talented young people are likely to be available in the
next few years, and where imaginative hiring could build connections between
existing groups in the department. The review committee does not find it
appropriate to recommend priorities in this matter, but merely to point out that it
is time for the department to begin serious discussion; see also
Recommendations 2 and 3.
The self-study document and interviews with faculty did not indicate that
• the Department has a definite and coherent vision of where it wants to be in the
core and applied mathematics areas. There is time to build consensus and a well-
considered strategy; we do not see the mechanisms in place at the moment. It is
^ 1q.
(
important that future directions be discussed and debated at the full department
level, presumably with the Appointments and Long Range Planning Committee
providing initial ideas.
Recommendation 3: The Department should develop a coherent plan for the
mathematics areas over the next five to ten years, which addresses curriculum,
research and staffing.
It should be remarked that the Statistics group has a quite clear vision of
where they want to be in the next few years. In fact, one of the issues they raise is
a desire for a separate department; this is discussed in Section 4.2. The actuarial
science program, however, deserves more attention: planning for the eventuality
that the current single faculty member does not return at the end of his leave,
and a discussion of the need for at least one full time faculty member in this
area, was not apparent to the Committee. This is crucial because it is hard to
imagine a high quality honours program without at least one full time faculty
member in the area.
Another concern is administrative leadership. The current Chair appears
to be the unique department member with the requisite administrative skills,
research reputation, seniority, and trust of all three segments of the department.
The Department needs to give thought to who will do this job next and to
mentoring its next generation to assume administrative roles. The group of mid-
career mathematicians available or willing to assume such duties is not large. At
present both the undergraduate and the graduate chairs are from the smallest
group, statistics; this deprives statistics of needed teaching, research and
graduate supervision time.
4. Administration
4.1 Administrative Support
Staff
The Department has an administrative support structure that in principle should
serve it well, with staff, faculty and students interacting comfortably and
efficiently. There are, however, some concerns which seem to revolve around
two factors. One is the reduction in the number of clerical positions from six to
five as a response to budget cuts. The other is an apparent shift in the role of the
Departmental Assistant (DA): student advisory work has moved from that
position to faculty members, and the time allotted for the DA to supervise and
collaborate with the clerical staff seems to have decreased. As a result the clerical
staff seem somewhat adrift and demoralized, and faculty members are doing
advisory work which could be handled by staff. In addition, restructuring of the
administrative unit to address the loss of a position and new ventures such as the
CECM is not proceeding in a timely way. Comments that the Review Committee
V 010.
• ?
heard from faculty, staff and students indicate severe inadequacies in the
administrative function, and suggest that immediate attention is essential.
Recommendation 4: The Department should move quickly to redefine
administrative functions and to reassign duties so as to reduce the advisory and
logistics work needed from faculty members and to improve the working
conditions of staff members.
The Department's committee structure appears satisfactory. Two
professors serving under the Chair head the Undergraduate Studies and
Graduate Studies Committees and are responsible for co-ordination in those
areas. It appears that chairing these two committees is rather time-consuming
and we heard suggestions that the two hour teaching release given is a little low.
The organizational position of the CECM is not clear to us. We assume
that many of the negotiations surrounding Dr. J
.
Borwein's Shrum Chair and the
establishment of the CECM were with the Dean of Science. However, the Shrum
Chair is finished soon and it seems crucial to specify who the CECM Director
reports to and any arrangements which link the CECM budget and the
Department budget. This issue is also important in terms of department morale,
as we discuss in Section 5.
Recommendation 5: The organizational position of the CECM and links between
its resources and those of the Department should be spelled out.
4.2 Statistics
The Statistics group in the Department has developed a clear and cohesive
vision for the future, emphasizing undergraduate studies, a Masters program in
applied statistics, and a small Ph.D program tailored to the faculty's research
areas. The Review Committee read in the Statistics and Actuarial Mathematics
Three Year Plan, and heard from faculty members during interviews, a strong
desire for the creation of an autonomous Department of Statistics.
Statistics is a discipline as separate from mathematics as is computer
science. On many campuses a separate department is best for it to grow to full
potential. A careful analysis of student numbers, resources, and potential for
growth is needed to assess the economic consequences of such an initiative, but
we note that this has worked well elsewhere. Modern actuarial science has
become increasingly statistical, and so that program might also well reside in
such a department. We feel that a separate Statistics Department would be viable
given the current faculty complement of eight statisticians and one actuarial
scientist. A larger department would be stronger and could attract more
students, and given the level of activity one or two more positions seem
• warranted in the short term. The Statistics group has the potential to be a top
flight department, of which there are few in Canada, but it will require a
commitment from the University to do so. We add that the role of, and emphasis
XX.
on, actuarial science, either within or outside of a separate department of
statistics, needs to be clarified.
?
I*
Recommendation 6: The University should consider establishing a separate
Department of Statistics within the Faculty of Science.
4.3 Resources and Facilities
With some exceptions, the resources which support teaching and research
in the Department are reasonably adequate. The library facilities and faculty and
staff office space seem satisfactory, though the absence of a lounge area is
unfortunate. However, space is a major problem for graduate students,
postdoctoral fellows, visitors, and in some labs. In some instances graduate
students do not even have their own desk, and they are clustered in very tight
spaces. The fact that graduate TA's often receive students at their desks must
make it very hard for others to concentrate on their work. Space is similarly
inadequate in the CECM. We recognize that this is a problem not easily solved,
but it must affect the productivity and morale of those involved in a detrimental
way. We note the University's intention to make "student study and recreation
space" a high priority.
Computing equipment in the Department seems adequate, with some
areas needing improvement clearly identified: upgrading the network,
replacement of ageing workstations and terminals, and the need for a dedicated
system administrator. The SW and WCAT machines are quite old, and more
space and machines in SW seem needed. The future of the WCAT lab is unclear
to us, so it is hard to make recommendations about it.
Recommendation 7: The Department should review its administrative and
technical support for computing, and seek to secure funding for a continuing
staff position in system administration.
A final area of concern is the Statistics Consulting Service (SCS), which
fulfils a valuable role in forging links with researchers on and off campus, and in
the education of graduate students. The SCS has a Director as its sole staff
position. Full or, at worst, partial support from the University is appropriate in
recognition of the internal consulting and teaching activities of the unit. At the
same time, it is clear that any expansion of activity must be based on funding
from research grants or contracts.
Recommendation 8: The Department should affirm its commitment to the SCS
by making a serious effort to procure ongoing funding for the position of
Director.
S. Outreach and Collaboration
The Department has established connections, through its many
undergraduate programs, to a number of other units on campus. These include
3jc.
P ie
• the Departments of Chemistry, Physics and Economics and the Schools of
Computing Science, Business and Engineering Science. The interaction of the
Department with these units was found to be both cordial and mutually
beneficial. However, some departments such as Sociology and Anthropology and
Biological Sciences, which prescribe certain statistics courses in their programs,
did seem to be having trouble communicating their concerns about these
courses. If it does not now exist, there should be put in place some simple and
informal mechanism by which client units are easily able to discuss difficulties
which they perceive in the Department's delivery of such courses. These
difficulties could be easily resolved through such a process, as none that we were
made aware of seemed very serious. It should also be pointed out that several
external units complained that scheduling changes in some courses offered by
the Department had not been communicated to them in a timely manner. With
the exception of these relatively minor irritants, the Committee found that the
Department maintains excellent relations with many units within the University.
Given the record of most mathematics departments in this regard, this represents
a remarkable achievement for which the Department deserves considerable
credit.
The Committee did discover, somewhat to its dismay, that there are
frictions in the Department's relationship with the Centre for Experimental and
Constructive Mathematics (CECM). This is a pity because the Centre is a most
• valuable resource. Not only does it provide graduate instruction and
supervision, but it brings to the Department many talented postdoctoral fellows
and world-class visitors, and provides a number of computer tools for assisting
in the conduct of mathematical research. Furthermore, it has a well-deserved
international reputation which should serve to enhance the Department's
recruitment efforts. Nevertheless, we perceive that the Centre has become
something of a victim of its own rapid success, and that more attention to
interactions with department members is needed. The CECM has, due to the
enormous energy of its officers, particularly its Director, grown considerably
faster than anyone could have predicted. As these individuals are also members
of the Department, this growth has created concerns in the minds of some
department members. At the same time, others indicated that they were
delighted with the Centre and pleased by its success.
The main sources of concern in the Department regarding the CECM are
(1) the division of resources between the Department and the CECM and (2) an
occasionally difficult interface between the two units. It is true that some of the
Department's limited discretionary funding is diverted to maintaining the
CECM. Also, the Centre's Director and Associate Director receive teaching relief
in order to attend to its affairs; in the case of the Director this relief is very
substantial. In addition, the Department contributes part of the time of one of
its secretaries. In a period when the Department's funding is being cut and
• workloads are increasing, these arrangements raise questions. The situation is
not enhanced by what several Department members perceive as a somewhat
highhanded style in the approach by the Centre to the Department. Although it is
^ 013.
easy to appreciate the day-to-day pressures of running a rather large operation
like the CECM with limited discretionary funding, the Centre should,
nevertheless, exhibit a greater level of sensitivity in its dealings with the
Department than it has apparently done recently.
In spite of these very understandable concerns, the Committee feels that
the Department receives excellent value from the Centre for its current
investment. It would probably be helpful if the financial relationship between
the two units could be presented to Department members so that everyone
might understand exactly what is being contributed and what the Department
receives. See in particular Recommendation 5 in Section 4.1. Also, as mentioned
previously, it appears that some members of the Department who might benefit
from the Centre do not yet do so. The Centre should perhaps inaugurate a more
proactive program to involve Department members in its activities, and actively
discuss the Centre's role in the Department. We see this relationship problem as
one which has developed through a lack of communication in both directions. It
should be resolvable by improving communications.
Recommendation 9: The Department and the CECM should actively plan
mechanisms for improving communications between the two bodies and for
optimizing the benefits that the CECM provides to the Department.
Through its Co-operative Program the Department also maintains a
number of valuable connections to the local corporate sector. This seems to be
functioning very well and will continue to enhance the reputation of both the
Department and the University as a whole in the local community. Our
interviews with several alumni confirmed our impression of the success of this
program and also revealed the existence of a very cordial relationship between
the Department and its alumni. Although little was said about this during our
visit, we should also commend the Department's active and successful outreach
program with the local high-schools.
There are many external connections in research, service and scholarly
activity through the efforts of individuals involved in collaborative research
work, service on editorial boards and in conference organization, and service for
national and international societies. The current President of the Canadian
Mathematics Society, the current Past-President of the Statistical Society of
Canada, and the Secretary of the Canadian Applied and Industrial Mathematics
Society are all department members. The Department has a very strong record in
these areas.
The Department has also recently joined in the formation of the Pacific
Institute for Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), together with the mathematics
departments at the Universities of Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary and
Victoria. The Committee detected some unhappiness in a few individuals
concerning PIMS, largely because they consider the annual contribution to PIMS
include
to have
networking,
cost the Department
contacts with
a position.
industry,
The
and
benefits
partial funding
of belonging
for postdoctoral
to PIMS
?
is
(.
P.
• fellows, workshops and conferences. In this sense the University's support for
PIMS represents a transfer of resources from one area to another, assuming the
Department partakes fully in the PIMS activities. As department members make
use of PIMS over the next while, the trade-offs in the allocation of resources
should become clearer.
6. Recommendations
Recommendation 1: The Department should review the roles and operations of
the five Workshops in order to adopt a clear vision for them over the next five
years, and to integrate this with overall resource allocation decisions involving
teaching.
Recommendation 2: The Department should develop priorities and plans for
teaching and graduate supervision in accordance with the resources available; it
would be sensible to do this under a number of funding and staffing scenarios.
Recommendation 3: The Department should develop a coherent plan for the
mathematics areas over the next five to ten years, which addresses curriculum,
research and staffing.
Recommendation 4: The Department should move quickly to redefine
. administrative functions and to reassign duties so as to reduce the advisory and
logistics work needed from faculty members and to improve the working
conditions of staff members.
Recommendation 5: The organizational position of the CECM and links between
its resources and those of the Department should be spelled out.
Recommendation 6: The University should consider establishing a separate
Department of Statistics within the Faculty of Science.
Recommendation 7: The Department should review its administrative and
technical support for computing, and seek to secure funding for a continuing
staff position in system administration.
Recommendation 8: The Department should affirm its commitment to the SCS by
making a serious effort to procure ongoing funding for the position of Director.
Recommendation 9: The Department and the CECM should actively plan
mechanisms for improving communications between the two bodies and for
optimizing the benefits that the CECM provides to the Department.
0
