Board and Senate notes: March 2017
BOARD NOTES: Alan Shepard shares progress made on Concordia’s Strategic Directions Game Plan
The Board of Governors approves the renaming of the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering
President’s remarks
At the March 8 Board of Governors meeting, Concordia’s president Alan Shepard expressed his gratitude to the community for its resiliency and understanding in response to the campus bomb threat on March 1.
He thanked the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the Concordia Student Union, the Muslim Students’ Association and the university’s Security Department for their cooperation.
The president also noted the support of Hélène David, Quebec minister responsible for Higher Education, who came to Concordia on the day of the incident and participated in joint media interviews.
Governors at the meeting were informed that, in light of the disruption of academic activities, the provost has issued a letter to all faculty and students regarding academic accommodation.
In his report, the president also took time to acknowledge the university’s many exciting initiatives. He cited the recent opening of Phase 3 of the Webster Library Transformation project as one example.
Under the leadership of Guylaine Beaudry, university librarian, Concordia is redefining what a library can do in the future. This includes providing a Technology Sandbox where people can try out emerging and cutting-edge technology and equipment.
A new department name reflects leadership in aerospace
With the board’s approval, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science has been renamed the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering. Concordia Senate approved the name change at its January 20 meeting. The new name will be effective May 1, 2017.
“With this change, we will have more opportunities to showcase our leadership in aerospace engineering,” said Graham Carr, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs.
The new name reflects the department’s increasing focus on aerospace engineering, which includes a successful professional master’s program, the creation of the new undergraduate program — offered in partnership with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering — and last year’s Aerospace Summer School for industry professionals and graduate students.
The faculty will continue to offer existing undergraduate and graduate programs in mechanical and industrial engineering.
Update on strategic directions
The president highlighted several initiatives that Concordia has undertaken during the past year and a half as part of the university’s Strategic Directions Game Plan.
Shepard continues to receive positive feedback about the powerful and distinctive nature of the nine directions. He said the most important one for him is Take Pride.
To support the recruitment of new postdoctoral fellows, Concordia is investing in exceptional young researchers through the Horizon Postdoctoral Fellowship program launched last fall. The postdocs receive two-year fellowships in disciplines linked to the university’s strategic research priorities.
Horizon postdocs are currently involved in research on games studies and design, carbon budgets, second-language learning, solar-powered buildings, histories of photography in Canada, disability and social innovation, transitions in family business ownership and probability models.
The School of Graduate Studies has teamed up with the Montreal Gazette to launch the Concordia University Public Scholars Program. Together they are working to bridge the gap between academic research and the community. Ten doctoral students have begun receiving professional training in topics such as op-ed writing as well as government and media relations.
Elizabeth Fast and Charmaine Lyn were appointed last November as special advisors to the provost on Indigenous Directions. They will lead the university’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) principles and calls to action.
They are now working with members of the Indigenous Directions Leadership Group, with a three-year mandate to make their recommendations.
In the area of curriculum and program development, the university is in the process of hiring three curriculum developers to work with faculty members as part of an ongoing renewal process.
One of Concordia’s biggest moves in its commitment to new programs and curricula is the creation of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Three faculty members have been hired, certificate and diploma programs are in development, and master’s and PhD programs will follow.
This summer, Concordia will be offering several new field schools, institutes and camps. Topics include Indigenous entrepreneurship, science journalism, cybersecurity, sustainable futures, an acting studio for non-actors, an aerospace summer camp for kids and an aerospace summer school.
Concordia University Press, the first open-access academic press in Quebec, was launched last October. It supports the university’s commitment to innovation by embracing next-generation scholarly publishing that is digital and open access.
Finally, the president reported on other initiatives in the works, including the expansion of District 3, an experts-in-residence program, the development of a CEGEP partnerships project and new staff-development resources.
Report on compliance with health and safety legislation and prevention
A report from Environmental Health and Safety informed governors of the university’s key safety performance indicators for 2016, as well as a summary of Q4 activities. Education remains a central component of safety prevention activities. In 2016, there were 192 safety training sessions with 2,206 participants, a 44 per cent increase from the previous year.
In July 2016, mandatory training was introduced for individuals handling hazardous waste disposal on university property and for supervisors of faculty or staff who generate hazardous waste on campus.
In November 2016, a new training course was launched to inform academic and administrative supervisors of their legal responsibilities for the health and safety of their staff and students.
SENATE NOTES: Senate unanimously passes a motion to extend academic accommodation to all students
Alan Shepard provides an update on the university's Strategic Directions Game Plan
President’s remarks
At the March 17, 2017 Senate meeting, Concordia’s president Alan Shepard spoke about the success of the recent Open House and Portfolio Day. The event was held on February 12 and drew more than 4,000 prospective students and their parents.
Shepard noted that applications for undergraduate and graduate programs are up, with a strong showing across all four faculties.
The president thanked the community for its resiliency and understanding in response to a bomb threat the university received on March 1. Shepard also thanked Hélène David, Quebec’s minister responsible for Higher Education, who came to Concordia on the day of the incident to show her support.
Additionally, he acknowledged the cooperation of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal and the work by university staff in responding to the crisis.
The president noted that Concordia welcomed Canada’s Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin on March 16. She was the first recipient of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute Prize.
Later, the Chief Justice delivered a lecture on the importance of the courts in Canadian democracy, as part of the Workshops on Social Science Research (WSSR). According to Shepard, the WSSR are to be celebrated for their impressive, diverse and broad range of speakers.
With Phase 3 of the Webster Library Transformation Project open, the president encouraged people to drop by the Technology Sandbox to try out its emerging and cutting-edge equipment and technology.
He also drew attention to 4th Space, which will occupy the former street-level bookstore location in the near future. This “living lab” will serve as a window to the community, showcasing the university’s research and creative activity, along with the people who make it happen.
Update on Concordia’s Strategic Directions
The president walked senators in attendance through several initiatives that are under way as part of the university’s Strategic Directions Game Plan. A similar presentation was made at the March 8 board meeting.
Shepard said he continues to receive positive feedback about the nine directions for their clarity, brevity and “zippiness” to create a framework to guide Concordia in becoming a next-generation university.
To support the recruitment of new postdoctoral fellows, and as part of the Double Our Research direction, Concordia launched the Horizon Postdoctoral Fellowship program last fall. The postdocs receive two-year fellowships in disciplines linked to the university’s strategic research priorities.
Horizon postdocs are currently involved in research on games studies and design, carbon budgets, second-language learning, solar-powered buildings, histories of photography in Canada, disability and social innovation, transitions in family business ownership and probability models.
In an effort to give the public a greater understanding about the research Concordia is doing, the School of Graduate Studies has teamed up with the Montreal Gazette to launch the Concordia University Public Scholars Program. Ten doctoral students have begun receiving professional training in topics such as op-ed writing as well as government and media relations.
Elizabeth Fast and Charmaine Lyn were appointed last November as special advisors to the provost on Indigenous Directions. They will lead the university’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) principles and calls to action.
Fast and Lyn are now working with members of the Indigenous Directions Leadership Group, with a three-year mandate to make their recommendations.
In the area of curriculum and program development, the university is also in the process of hiring three specialists to work with faculty members as part of ongoing curriculum renewal.
One of Concordia’s biggest moves in its commitment to new programs and curricula is the creation of the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. Three faculty members have been hired, certificate and diploma programs are in development, and master’s and PhD programs will follow.
This summer, Concordia will be offering several new field schools, institutes and camps. Topics include Indigenous entrepreneurship, science journalism, cybersecurity, sustainable futures, an acting studio for non-actors, an aerospace summer camp for kids and an aerospace summer school.
Concordia University Press, the first open-access academic press in Quebec, was launched last October. It supports the university’s commitment to innovation by embracing next-generation scholarly publishing that is digital and open access.
Finally, the president referred to other initiatives in the works, including the expansion of District 3, an experts-in-residence program, a social innovation network, the development of a CEGEP partnerships project and new staff-development resources.
Academic accommodation in relation to the March 1 event
Senate unanimously passed the following motion for academic accommodation to all students across both campuses, in relation to the events of March 1:
“Whereas Senate acknowledges that some students continued to be affected in the days immediately following the events of March 1, 2017;
That faculty members be asked to extend academic accommodations to all students (undergraduate, graduate and continuing education in all programs) who request an accommodation because their academic activities, regardless of location, were affected by the events of March 1, 2017, and that such accommodations be applied to graded work due on March 2 and 3, 2017; and
That students wanting to make arrangements for academic accommodations as a result of the events of March 1, 2017 contact their professor or department chair no later than March 31, 2017 with their request.”
