SFU
MEMORANDUM
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC AND PROVOST
University Drive, Burnaby, BC
Canada V5A 1S6
TEL: 778.782.3925
FAX: 778.782.5876
S.12-164
www.sfu.ca/vpacademic
ATTENTION
Senate
DATE
November 15,2012
from
Jon Driver, Vice-President, Academic and
PAGES
1/1
Provost, and Chair, SCUP
RE:
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: Renaming and Reclassification of the "Centre for the
Reduction of Violence Among Children and Youth" (SCUP 12-37)
At its October 24, 2012 meeting SCUP reviewed and approved the proposal for the request of name
change from
Centre for the Reduction of Violence Among Children and Youth to the Institute for the
Reduction of Youth Violence and that it become an institute.
Motion:
That Senate approve the name of the Centre for the Reduction of Violence Among Children and Youth
be changed to the Institute for the Reduction of Youth Violence and that it become an institute.
end.
c: R. McMahon
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
engaging the world
SFU
OFFICE OF Tl IKVICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARC
MEMORANDUM
Strand Hall 3195
8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC
Canada V5A1S6
ATTENTION
Sarah Dench, Secretary
Senate Committee on University Planning
(SCUP)
FROM
Norbert H. Haunerland
PAGES
1/1
RE:
Renaming and Reclassification ofthe "Centre for the Reduction ofViolence Among Children and Youth"
TEL 778.782.4152
FAX 778.782.4860
DATE
September 24, 2012
SCUP 12-37
www.sfu.ca/vpresearch
Attached is a letter from Dr. Robert McMahon, requesting that the "Centre" become an "Institute" due
to it's changing focus and activities to be multi-university and multi-disciplinary. Dr. McMahon has also
requested a name change for the Centre for the Reduction of Violence Among Children
and Youth be changed to the
Institute for the Reduction of Youth Violence.
I recommend approval. Once approved by SCUP the request should be sent to Senate and the Board of
Governors for information.
Motion:
That SCUP approve the name of the Centre for the Reduction of Violence Among Children and
Youth be changed to the
Institute for the Reaction of Youth Violence
and that it become an
Institute.
Dr. Norbert Haunerland
Associate Vice-President, Research
Attachment
C:
Dr. Robert McMahon, Department of Psychology
SIMON FRASEB UNIVERSITY
ENGAGING THE WORLD
September 17,2012
To:
Senate Committee on University Priorities
From: Robert J. McMahon, Ph.D.
Professor and LEEF BC Leadership Chair
Department of Psychology
RE: Centre for the Reduction of Violence Among Children and Youth
I am writing to formally requesta change in the function and name of the "Centrefor the
Reduction of Violence Among Children and Youth" to the "Institute for the Reduction of
YouthViolence." (This request was approved by the Steering Committee of the Centre
and by Neil Watson, Chair of the Department of Psychology on September 10, 2012; and
by Paul McFetridge,Associate Dean, FASS, on September 17, 2012.)
The rationale for this request is that the stated goals, purpose, and function of the
"Centre" are those of an Institute rather than a Centre as defined by SFU Policy R40.01:
"Research Centres
are non-departmental academic or administrative units established
for the purposes
offacilitating collaborative research mainly within a Faculty.
Research
Institutes
are created to facilitate collaborative multi-disciplinary research between
different Faculties and/or multi-university initiatives and to provide research-related
services to the community."
As noted in my application for the BC Leadership Chair and in my Annual Report to
LEEF, the immediate and longer-term objectives
of the Chair and the "Centre" are to
establish, maintain, and support interdisciplinary research that is focused on (a)
elucidating the origins, developmental pathways, and outcomes of children and youth
with violence and other conduct problems; and (b) the development, evaluation, and
dissemination
of state-of-the-art preventive and treatment interventions for alleviating
youth violence and other conduct problems throughout childhood and adolescence. My
goal is for the
"Centre" to become the intellectual home for interdisciplinary research and
knowledge exchange/transfer concerning youth violence and other conduct problems by
taking a leadership role in forging research collaborations with other research centres and
networks in Canada, the U.S., and abroad.
The focus and activities of the "Centre" have been clearly multi-university and
multidisciplinary (as opposed to within Faculty). As noted in my Annual Reports (June
2011,2012), in the past two years I have established new research collaborations with
SFU colleagues in multiple Departments/Faculties at SFU (e.g., Psychology,
Criminology, Health Sciences) and at other universities (e.g., UBC, Harvard, University
of California-Irvine; University of South Carolina) and agencies (e.g., Ministry of
Children and Family Development, RTI International). These complement ongoing
research collaborations with researchers at the University of Washington, University of
New Mexico, Duke University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Alabama,
and Tufts University. Disciplines represented inthese collaborations include clinical,
forensic, and developmental psychology; neuroscience; genetics; environmental
toxicology; law; criminology; psychiatry; and pediatric medicine.
Another primary objective of the "Centre" noted inmy application for the LEEF Chair is
thedissemination of knowledge about youth violence to multiple stakeholders, including
researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and thecommunity atlarge. To that end, I have
been active in making connections in the community. For example, meetings have been
held with individuals from the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Vancouver
School Board, Vancouver Police Department, the Dalai Lama Center, HELP (Human
Early Learning Partnership), and the RSVP Program of Family Services of Greater
Vancouver. I have also met with individuals from the Canadian Red Cross to discuss
potential collaborative research activities. In addition, I have made presentations
concerning the "Centre" andmy research to the UBC Divisionof Child andAdolescent
Psychiatry, the Department of Psychology at SFU, various groups atthe Child & Family
Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital, the Tri-Cities Joint Family Court
and Youth Justice Committee, local and national representatives ofthe National Crime
Prevention Centre (NCPC), HumanKind (sponsored by the Art of Living Institute), and
the UpStart Council of Champions ofthe United Way of Calgary. I have given invited
keynote/plenary addresses concerning youth violenceto forensic conferences in
Vancouver, Toronto, and Rotterdam in the past year.
I believe that it is clear that the "Centre" is intended to function, and is functioning, as an
Institute, and respectfully request approval to change the function and name to the
"Institute for the Reduction of Youth Violence."
Thank you.
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