Senate meeting provides updates on key university issues

Much of the April 15 meeting of the Concordia University Senate centered on updates of ongoing work at the university.

Provost David Graham informed senators of the extension of the delivery timeline of the draft academic plan, originally projected to reach Senate at the beginning of April.

Graham said he plans to bring a revised draft back to the community in June, followed by discussions in the various Faculty Councils in September. Senate would then review the revised plan in October.

In his remarks to Senate, President and Vice-Chancellor Fred Lowy began by outlining the events of the April 4 joint meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors and the Senate Steering Committee.

He said there was a mutual agreement that better communication is needed. Lowy, who is a member of both committees, has offered to act as liaison between the two bodies to report on the work of the two groups.

Lowy also reported on the discussion of the three motions passed by the Senate on January 21. He noted that the External Governance Review Committee, established in March to evaluate governance issues at Concordia, has received a number of submissions from community members and has begun work on its mandate. While no date was given as to when the committee would deliver their final report, Lowy said the committee is working toward the goal of submitting the report by the deadline of 60 days from its first meeting which took place during the week of April 11.

The President also explained that the Chair of the Board of Governors Peter Kruyt said he would be prepared to resign if the Board has lost confidence in his leadership. The Board will consider the Senate motion for the Chair’s resignation shortly.

Finally, Lowy provided updates on the searches for various senior administrative positions. The processes for selecting a new President, the new Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni Relations and the new Vice-President, Services have all been initiated.

It was also announced that Concordia’s Comprehensive Campaign would likely be officially launched in the fall.

Undergraduate curriculum changes were approved for programs in the Loyola International College, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Department of Art Education, John Molson School of Business International Business, and the Department of Religion.

Also approved were graduate curriculum changes in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, and the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering.

The next meeting of Senate will be May 20.


Related links:
•  For details and supporting documents of matters discussed at the April 15 meeting of Senate, please refer to the agenda.
•  "Finalizing academic plan deferred to Fall 2011" – Now, April 5 2011
•  "Board approves creation of president search committee" – Now, April 1 2011
•  "Members of External Governance Review Committee named" – Now, March 18 2011
•  Concordia University Senate