AGENDA ___
PROVOST’S REPORT TO COUNCIL
February 2012
PROVOST’S ACADEMIC ADDRESS
On February 9 I gave my academic address, titled What Difference Do Universities Make?.
INTEGRATED PLANNING
Provost’s Committee on Integrated Planning (PCIP)
Correction: Last month’s report stated that the “spending policy for endowments was also
amended by the board, decreasing the spending allocation to 4.25M in 2012/13 and 4.0M on an
ongoing basis.” This should instead read 4.25 per cent and 4 per cent.
In January, PCIP received an update on the Service Process Enhancement Project (SPEP),
discussed the Multi-Year Budget and Capital Frameworks, and TABBS.
Over the course of the second planning cycle PCIP chose not to allocate permanent resources
from the Academic Priorities Fund (APF) for a large number of new initiatives, primarily due to
the economic uncertainty we experienced. These circumstances have brought us to a point where
a substantial number of initiatives will need to be reviewed, revised, and resubmitted to PCIP in
order to be considered for potential permanent funding – all within a very short timeframe. As
such, PCIP decided to provide one year of bridge funding for initiatives that were term funded in
IP2 and whose funding was due to expire in April 2012. The communication of this decision as it
affected individual projects was sent out in early February.
Development of the Third Integrated Plan
Consultations on the draft Third Integrated Plan have been held with numerous committees and
key stakeholders. The consultation period will wrap up on February 17. The document will be
revised based on the feedback received during the consultation process. Council members will
receive, by email, the draft for approval at least 48 hours prior to the March 1 special council
meeting. Following that meeting (if the document is approved), the draft will be submitted to the
Board of Governors for approval at their March 6 meeting.
STRATEGIC ENROLMENT MANAGEMENT (SEM) PROJECT
In my last report to council, I advised you that the University of Saskatchewan has undertaken a
Strategic Enrolment Management project in consultation with SEMWorks, a consulting agency,
and that the consultants conducted a SEM audit and enrolment intelligence review in December.
Their recommendations and findings were presented via webinar in January. For a link to the
webinars, please contact one of the co-project managers, Janelle Hutchinson
(Janelle.hutchinson@usask.ca) or Kyla Shea (kyla.shea@usask.ca).
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The next phase of this project is a three day visit with two of the consultants, Jim Black and
Lynda Wallace-Hulecki. They will conduct a one-day leadership retreat with senior academic
and administrative leaders to discuss strategic enrolment opportunities, and a half-day retreat
with a working group who will be developing student profiles on various segments of our student
population as well as meeting with the academic leadership of the various colleges and schools.
This work is the second phase of developing a Strategic Enrolment Management Plan for the
University.
TRANSPARENT, ACTIVITY-BASED BUDGET SYSTEM (TABBS)
Phase Two (Development) of the TABBS project is nearing completion. Since last September,
we have completed four consultation sessions presenting seven design features. As the project
team works to incorporate the feedback obtained during these sessions, we also work towards
building a comprehensive model working together with its component features. The next
consultation session, to be held March 29, will demonstrate an example of this model. Phase
Three (Implementation and Refinement) is scheduled to begin in Spring 2012. More details are
available online at www.usask.ca/tabbs.
COLLEGE AND UNIT UPDATES
College of Arts & Science
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Congratulations to Peter Robinson and Brent Nelson of the Department of English, and
to Frank Klaassen of the Department of History. The three Humanities scholars have
been awarded a sizable grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support a
digital database that will enable public access to many literary texts
The Writing North, Writing the Extraordinary event was held in January and once again
the depth and breadth of the province’s writing community. It was organized by the
Department of English, the Department of Drama, and the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild,
and their partners the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company and the Saskatoon Writers'
Co-op
Patricio Desjardins, a former PhD student in the Department of Geological Sciences,
recently received the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologist’s (CSPG) Best PhD
Thesis Award for 2011
The college will host the 2012 Alumni of Influence Awards Ceremony on March 16. The
honourees are: Carol Greyeyes, Blair Neatby, Roman Shklanka, Mary Spencer,
Kenneth Norrie, Frederick Mulder, Freda Miller, Robert Moody, Tillie Taylor,
Cyril Richardon
The Department of Languages and Linguistics co-hosted with the University of Calgary
and the Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle an interdisciplinary colloquium “Fascinations des
images” on January 20-21
Carl Gutwin (Computer Science) is now part of the CHI Academy, an honorary group of
individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of human-computer
interaction. These are the principal leaders of the field, whose efforts have shaped the
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disciplines and/or industry, and led the research and/or innovation in human-computer
interaction
SEARCHES AND REVIEWS
Search, Dean, College of Medicine
Candidates for the Dean, College of Medicine were on campus in January. The committee met
in early February.
Search, Executive Director, School of Environment and Sustainability
Candidates for the Executive Director, School of Environment and Sustainability were on
campus in January. The committee met in early February.
Search, Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning
The search committee for the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning has met three times. Shortlisted candidates will be on-campus in February.
Review, Dean, College of Nursing
The review committee for the Dean, College of Nursing has begun meeting and a request for
feedback will be sent out.
Review, Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Research
The review committee for the Dean, College of Graduate Studies and Research is constituted.
Meetings will be scheduled shortly.
Review, Dean, College of Dentistry
The review committee for the Dean, College of Dentistry has being constituted. Meetings will
be scheduled shortly.
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