Minutes of University Council
2:30 p.m., Thursday, April 21, 2016
Arts Building Room 241 Neatby-Timlin Theatre
Attendance: See Appendix A for listing of members in attendance.
Dr. Kalra, chair of Council called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m., observing that quorum had been
attained.
1.
2.
Adoption of the agenda
DICK/D. BRENNA: To adopt the agenda as circulated.
Opening remarks
CARRIED
Dr. Kalra provided opening remarks, noting the important business before Council and sharing the
procedures for debate and discussion. Voting members were invited to sit in the center section and
non-voting members and guests to sit in the side sections. The chair advised that those individuals
wanting to speak should first be recognized by the chair and identify their name and whether they
are a member of Council. Generally, Council members have first priority to speak. Members of the
media were asked not to participate in debate and not to record the proceedings of the meeting.
The chair invited Beth Williamson, university secretary to report on the results of the recent
member-at-large election. Ms. Williamson announced that Rainer Dick, Department of Physics and
Engineering Physics; Lisa Kalynchuk, Department of Medicine; and Fran Walley, Department of Soil
Science were the three General Academic Assembly (GAA) members elected to one-year terms on
Council from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017. Ms. Williamson also reported that nominations have
been received from seven nominees for the position of faculty member representative on the Board
of Governors. Candidate profiles have been posted on the secretariat website. Ms. Williamson
encouraged Council’s faculty members to vote and to encourage their faculty colleagues to vote.
3.
Minutes of the meeting of March 17, 2016
4.
Business from the minutes
5.
Report of the President
KALYNCHUK/GORDON: That the Council minutes of March 17, 2016 be approved as
circulated.
CARRIED
There was no business arising from the minutes.
President Peter Stoicheff presented the president’s report to Council offering remarks in addition to
his written report about the Emma Lake Kenderdine campus. Funding for a site plan and vision for
the campus has been allocated as was announced at the GAA Assembly. The president thanked Patti
McDougall, vice-provost teaching and learning for her efforts to renew the campus.
The president reported that the visioning committee for the vision, mission and values document
continues to conduct a full range of consultations, including a second survey. With the provincial
election past and the provincial budget due to be released on June 1, budget scenarios for various
operating grant increases or decreases are being developed. The president indicated he would
approach the chair about the scenarios being presented at the May Council meeting.
The president indicated he continues to work diligently to ensure elected representatives and
government officials understand that the university contributes to the province’s economy, is
efficient, and represents both excellence and distinctiveness as a discovery-led teaching and
research institution and medical-doctoral university. Importantly, the university continues to
collaborate with other post-secondary institutions in the province, as demonstrated by the recently
announced 2 plus 2 program between the Edwards School of Business and Saskatchewan
Polytechnique.
Concluding his remarks, President Stoicheff offered thanks to Jack Saddleback, University of
Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) president and Rajat Chakravarty, Graduate Students’
Association (GSA) president and their executive teams for their leadership on behalf of students.
The chair invited questions of President Stoicheff. In response, a member requested that the
Kenderdine Campus be used as a home base for Indigenous research and activities, among other
purposes.
6.
Report of the Provost
Ernie Barber, interim provost and vice-president academic presented the provost’s report to
Council. Dr. Barber drew attention to the task force report on the School of Public Health and the
role of the planning and priorities committee in receiving the task force report, which is the
institutional response to the review. As the external reviewers’ report made clear that the school
was not sustainable in its current form, the task force, under the leadership of Lois Berry, interim
assistant vice-provost health, provided eight recommendations about the future of the school. Key
among the recommendations was that the original vision and mission of the school remains valid,
that there is enthusiasm for the school, and that the school exist as a standalone unit on campus and
provide a focal point for research and community engagement in public health. In response, the
search for a new executive director of the school has resumed, work has begun to rebuild trust and
collaboration with the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, and a set of metrics is
under development to assess if the school is on the right track. Dr. Barber urged members to read
the task force report and the planning and priorities committee response to the report appended to
his written report.
Dr. Barber invited Patti McDougall to present the enrolment report for the academic year
2015/2016. Dr. McDougall presented a series of slides providing enrolment data broken down by
undergraduate versus graduate student enrolment, direct-entry retention rates, graduation rates,
increases in Aboriginal, domestic, and international students, and strategic enrolment management
targets by college. She indicated that strategic enrolment management is about creating enrolment
targets and evaluating those targets in terms of types of students, diversity within student
populations, recruitment objectives, retention goals, and graduation numbers.
Total enrolment increased in 2015/16 by 0.7% to 23,700 students, comprised of a 0.2% increase in
undergraduate students and a 2.1% increase to 3,900 graduate students. Through the last
planning cycle, a series of enrolment targets were set with each college. In almost every case,
colleges met or exceeded targets set for themselves, with the notable exception of the university’s
graduate student population. Three credit unit teaching activity is down slightly.
The university’s out-of-province Canadian students largely come from Alberta. Overall, the number
of Saskatchewan students has been falling, and the number of international students has been
increasing at approximately the same rate. The top countries of origin at the undergraduate level
are China, Nigeria, and India. At the graduate level, a third of the university’s graduate students
come from international locations. Among these, China, India, Iran, and Nigeria are the top drawing
countries. There are students from over 100 countries studying at the university. The university has
surpassed its IP3 international undergraduate enrolment target but did not meet its target number
for international graduate students.
The university’s Aboriginal student population increased in 2015/16 by 4.3% at the undergraduate
level and by 13.4% at the graduate student level, meeting the university’s overall target.
The number of students registering with Disability Student Services (DSS) has increased. About half
of those students that register with DSS present with physical disabilities and about half present
with non-physical disabilities.
In response to the invitation for questions, requests were made for an analysis of the quality of
institutions international graduate students previously attended prior to attending the U of S and a
request for data on time to completion in program.
7.
Report of the Vice-president Research
Karen Chad, vice-president research thanked Council for having her return to provide a second
update this year on the activities in her office and introduced Johannes Dyring, the new managing
director of the Industry Liaison Office (ILO) to report to Council on her behalf. Dr. Dyring
introduced his presentation by providing his background as a researcher and his realization of his
passion in exploring how to turn others’ ideas or new knowledge into actionable products or
processes. Dr. Dyring explained that his focus in revitalizing the ILO is to increase the flow of ideas.
This involves a need to develop connection with researchers, staff, and students to understand their
ideas and provide value to them in working with the ILO to bring these to an outcome that might be
a new product, service, business process or other development.
In his presentation, Dr. Dyring outlined the various ways that an idea moves towards innovation
and explained that the ILO works with researchers to determine the best pathway for their idea.
The ILO is currently engaged in significant consultation with internal and external partners to
broaden the knowledge base and resources within the office and to look at developing new funding
sources and attracting good research talent. In discussing innovation, he noted that continuing to
improve quality of life worldwide relies on doing more and better things with the resources that
exist and that innovation is about sustainable growth and social welfare.
8.
Student societies
8.1 Report from the USSU
Jack Saddleback, USSU president presented the report to Council, explaining that this would be
his last attendance at Council as USSU president and thanking Council for accepting an oral
rather than a written report. He explained that he had recently been to Ottawa with presidents
of other student groups to advocate to government representatives about issues that are
important to students. He expressed his satisfaction with the recent federal budget and the
many positive points it included for students. The USSU election results for its new executive
for 2016/17 have been announced and Kehan Fu is the newly elected USSU president. Mr.
Saddleback concluded his report by highlighting the hard work of students on integrating
Indigenous content in the curriculum and expressed his hope that the work on reconciliation
continues in the same thoughtful vein.
Council thanked Mr. Saddleback for his service to Council this year.
8.2 Report from the GSA
Rajat Chakravarty, GSA president presented the GSA report to Council. The GSA has also just
concluded elections for next year’s executive and Ziad Ghaith will be the new GSA president.
Other news is that the GSA will hold its Annual General Meeting this year in conjunction with
the annual International Food Fair and will soon launch a new GSA website. Mr. Chakravarty
concluded his report by thanking Council for the opportunity to attend and provide the
perspective of graduate students.
Council thanked Mr. Chakravarty for his service to Council. Adam Baxter-Jones, interim dean of
the College of Graduate Studies and Research (CGSR) echoed the congratulations, recognizing
the hard work of the GSA executive in reorganizing the governance structure and finances of
the GSA and dedicating time to CGSR committees to advocate for graduate students.
9. Academic Programs Committee
Ganesh Vaidyanathan, committee vice-chair presented the academic programs committee (APC)
report to Council.
9.1 Item for Information – Combined Juris Doctor (J.D.) / Master of Business Administration (M.B.A)
Program
Dr. Vaidyanathan indicated that APC approved the combined Juris Doctor/Master of Business
Administration at its meeting on March 23, 2016. The J.D./MBA program is a combined
program where the learning outcomes of both programs are met through a mutual agreement
on credits for specific courses. The program exists at other institutions in Canada and approval
of the program at the university is timely in order to remain competitive.
10. International Activities Committee
Hongming Cheng, chair of the international activities committee presented the international
activities committee report to Council.
10.1 Item for Information – Templates for International Agreements
Dr. Cheng explained that the International Office has worked to develop templated agreements
for both MOUs for international partnerships and bilateral student exchange agreements, along
with due diligence documents to ensure appropriate consultation is conducted when
agreements are being entered into. Dr. Cheng explained that an MOU developed from this
template is not legally binding, but expresses an intention by the signatories to enter into
future formal agreements relating to partnerships, research, and exchange. Dr. Cheng
explained that in developing templates like these, the International Office is working to
streamline processes for international collaboration.
A member inquired of Dr. Cheng of when the international activities committee would be
bringing an update to Council on the Confucius Institute. Dr. Chad responded that the
Confucius Institute will be addressed at the next meeting of Council, when a full briefing report
on the institute will be presented.
Diane Martz, director, international research and partnerships clarified that the templated
agreements will work in the context of how most international relationships currently develop,
which is by researchers and faculty working with their colleagues in international institutions.
These agreements will not stand in the way of existing collaborations and are meant to assist in
formalizing and deepening relationships with global partners.
11. Governance Committee
Louise Racine, chair of the governance committee presented the governance committee report
to council.
11.1 Request for Decision – Teaching, Learning and Academic Resources Committee Amendment
Terms of Reference
Dr. Racine provided the background to the small revision from the version of the teaching,
learning and academic resources committee (TLARC) terms of reference seen by Council as a
notice of motion at the February Council meeting. She explained that following the discussion
at that meeting, the nominations committee was consulted and recommended the addition of
the word “some” to qualify the statement on having expertise in Aboriginal teaching and
learning on the committee. Neither the governance committee nor the nominations committee
specified that this expertise reside in individuals of Aboriginal or Métis ancestry, as both
committees were cognizant that this could make it difficult to populate the committee.
RACINE/KALYNCHUK: That Council approve the amendments to the terms of reference of the
teaching, learning and academic resources committee of Council as shown in the attachment.
CARRIED
12. Planning and Priorities Committee
Lisa Kalynchuk, chair of the planning and priorities committee presented the report to Council.
12.1 Request for Decision – Postponement of consideration of the Canadian Institute for Science
and Innovation Policy (CISIP)
Dr. Kalynchuk recalled the concerns raised at Council in response to the proposal to establish
the Canadian Institute for Science and Innovation Policy within the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate
School of Public Policy. There was a call from Council at that time for the proponents to engage
in further consultation and to develop a revised proposal. The committee reviewed a revised
proposal on April 6. It was clear to the committee based on the Council discussion that further
revisions to the proposal and additional consultation were required. The proponents requested
a delay of one month in presenting their revised proposal to Council. Dr. Kalynchuk
communicated that the planning and priorities committee considered this request to be
reasonable and recommended that consideration of the CISIP proposal be postponed.
KALYNCHUK/DE BOER: It is recommended that consideration of the motion to approve the
Canadian Institute for Science and Innovation Policy (CISIP) be further postponed to the May
Council meeting.
The chair invited discussion of the motion. Concern was raised about consultation with the
First Nations in Saskatchewan and with northern groups, given the focus in the proposal on
Northern governance and policies. The view was expressed that appropriate consultation
should precede the centre working with these groups. The consultation undertaken with the
First Nations University of Canada (FNUC) and the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Resource Centre
(IPHRC) was considered to be inadequate and not a full and broad consultation with
Indigenous groups. As the university recognizes the need for truth and reconciliation to
redress the legacy of residential schools for Aboriginal peoples, the belief was expressed that
additional consultation with First Nations will be needed for all proposals, including centre
proposals, and that this was called for to embed indigenization in all university processes.
Other members raised concerns about the influence of corporations on the proposed centre,
with the request for a further revision to the proposal to explain how the centre will serve the
interests and needs of the university and not the interests and needs of external groups. A
member referenced the current investigations at the University of Calgary into conflict of
interest, and concerns at academic institutions about corporate entities seeking partnerships
with academic partners to legitimize their operations. Postponement to the May Council
meeting was suggested as inappropriate given the controversy over the centre and that
historically the late spring Council meetings are poorly attended.
In response to the concerns raised the point was made that further consultations with First
Nations leaders has been arranged, that the centre will be focused on policy scholarship and
research as opposed to policy development for external parties, and that proponents for this
centre have been presented with more stringent requirements than past centres proponents.
The additional safeguards and concerns over conflict of interest for researchers in the centre
were noted as potentially restricting these researchers’ right to academic freedom.
A motion was made to further postpone consideration of the CISIP proposal. Debate was
restricted to the amendment proposed. Points supporting postponing the decision until
October included that the additional time could be well used to engage in the additional
consultation suggested, and would include the opportunity to put some measures in place to
address the perception of biased research and conflict of interest. Points against postponing
the decision were that postponing Council’s obligations to make decisions over concerns that
attendance will be less at the May Council meeting is an assumption that may not hold. The
belief that Council members will attend to discuss and debate important matters was asserted.
PROCEDURAL MOTION:
FINDLAY/CARD: That consideration of the motion to approve the Canadian Institute for
Science and Innovation Policy (CISIP) be further postponed to the October 2016 Council
meeting.
DEFEATED
A member called for a count for quorum. 41 members were counted; 43 members is quorum.
With loss of quorum, the chair indicated that no further decisions could be made, and the
meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m.