Message to the General Academic Assembly
December, 2012
Welcome to the sixth edition of Council’s newsletter to the General Academic
Assembly.
Council continues to be engaged with important decisions relating to the oversight
of the institution’s academic mission. One of the most significant of these decisions
has involved the renewal of the College of Medicine. Following the special GAA
meeting in September, Council rescinded its earlier approval of a new academic
governance model for the College of Medicine to permit the College to submit a
new plan by December. At the December Council meeting, Council approved in
principle the document A New Vision for the College of Medicine, with an
implementation plan for the vision document to be submitted to the Planning and
Priorities Committee by August 15, 2013.
Other items approved by Council since September include
• Membership changes for the faculty councils of Pharmacy and Nutrition
and School of Environment and Sustainability.
• Establishment of the Estey Chair in Business Law, the SaskPower Chair
in Power Systems Engineering, and the honorary Louis Horlick chair for
the head of the Department of Medicine
• A new template for Arts and Science certificates of proficiency
• Change of admission requirements for the College of Graduate Studies
and Research to allow departments to establish Direct-entry PhD
programs, as well as changes to admission requirements for Dentistry
• Revision and expansion of the university’s distinguished professor
program
• Establishment of the Centre for Evidence Based Library and Information
Practice (C-EBLIP) in the University Library, and the Sustainability Education
Research Institute (SERI) in the College of Education
Items received by Council for information and discussion include
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A report with data about the university’s faculty and staff complements
The 2013/14 Operations Forecast funding request to the Government
The 2012/13 Enrolment Report
Summary report on TABBS (Transparent, Activity-Based Budget System)
Guidelines for Council Motions, Minutes, Committee Meetings and Minutes
ABOUT COUNCIL
Council is the university’s governing body responsible for all things academic, and it relies
on the collegial model of academic self-governance to do its business. That means that you,
as a member of the General Academic Assembly, have an opportunity to influence the
academic direction of the institution, both by electing colleagues and members of your
college to Council, and by considering letting your name stand for election to Council or
one of its committees.
Are you interested in participating in the governance of the University of Saskatchewan?
Please consider putting your name forward to be a member of Council or offering to join a
University Committee. Each year, the call for nominations to Council and to its committees
is issued in February. Our committees are the mechanism through which collegial
university governance is achieved.
More information, including the agendas of upcoming Council meetings, minutes of past
meetings, and information about elections, committees, bylaws and policies, can be found on
Council’s web site at http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/council/. Questions can be
directed to university.secretary@usask.ca.
Council meets once a month (see below). Meetings are open to all, and we hope you will
always feel welcome to join us and to watch your Council in action.
Meetings of University Council in Term Two:
• Thursday, January 24, 2013
• Thursday, February 28
• Thursday, March 21
• Thursday, April 18
• Thursday, May 16
• Thursday, June 20
All meetings are in Neatby-Timlin Theatre, Arts 241, at 2:30 p.m.
On behalf of Council and its committees and of the Council secretariat, I wish you all a
restful and enjoyable holiday season.
Jay Kalra,
Chair, University Council