BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Dunker Family Lounge | Room 1303 | 5:30 p.m.
MINUTES- OPEN SESSION
The Board of Governors met on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in the Dunker Family Lounge, Renison University College.
Present: Brendon Bedford, Manfred Conrad, Hsiao D’Ailly, Wendy Fletcher, Brian Hendley, Keith Hipel, Rose Padacz, Peter Ringrose
(Chair), Peter H. Roe, Peter Townshend (Secretary), Rosita Tse (Treasurer), Jim Walker, Jillian Weaver (RENISIX student rep), Kayla
Wright (RASC student rep), May Yan (Vice-Chair)
REGRETS: The Rev’d Matthew Griffin, Paul Pink, The Rt. Rev’d D. Ralph Spence
GUESTS: Judi Jewinski, Geoff McBoyle, Melanie McKellar, Jodi Ritter, Caroline Tanswell
RECORDER: Michaela Tatu
1.
OPENING PRAYER – Rev’d Peter Townsend
Peter Ringrose welcomed guests and introduced the two student reps, who will be with us until April: Jillian Weaver
(RENISIX) and Kayla Wright (RASC).
2.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES of the meeting of June 24, 2015
Jim Walker MOVED to approve the minutes; SECONDED by Peter H. Roe.
3.
BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
There was no business arising to discuss.
4.
REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Rose Padacz MOVED to accept the agenda; SECONDED by Kayla Wright.
5.
DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations made.
6.
CHAIR’S REMARKS – Peter Ringrose
CARRIED.
CARRIED.
AGM
This year’s AGM and Grand Opening of the New building has been moved from October 28 th to Friday October 30th.
His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M, C.D., Governor General of Canada and Her
Excellency Sharon Johnston, C.C. are able to attend between 1-1:30pm for the Grand Opening.
Caroline Tanswell and her team are working on the details of a luncheon prior to the grand opening. Tentative schedule:
 12:30pm – light refreshments available (TBA)
 1:00-1:30pm – Grand Opening program (Atrium)
 2:00-2:30pm – Annual General Meeting (Dunker Family Lounge) featuring key items of business. Guests will be
invited to sit in on the AGM
Formal invitations will follow.
Financial Planning (ED4) and Financial Management policies (ED5) (revised drafts were handed out at the meeting)
The original policy for use of reserve funds worked well for the new building, but more flexibility is needed in the policy to
meet changing needs from year to year.
Financial Management Policy (ED5) - A new clause was introduced at the end of this policy (#9). The key change is that
when the budget is set, we will plan for a certain amount of surplus to be allocated to the reserve fund before any other
surplus money can be considered for other purposes. Every year can be different, as long as we meet our commitment to
allocate funds to the capital reserve fund, to the level planned when the budget is set.
In addition to operating expenditures, capital expenditures should also be included when referring to budget. This has been
added to both policies.
The Finance and Audit committee and the Governance Committee have reviewed the proposed changes as well. Peter
Ringrose recommended that the changes be made to the policy manual.
Peter H. Roe MOVED that the amendments to policies ED4 and ED5 be accepted. SECONDED by Keith Hipel.
CARRIED.
ACTION: Update governance policies ED4 and ED5.
Peter Townsend MOVED to rescind the motion passed by the Board on April 2014, which stated that 70% of the reserve
fund would be used towards new building projects and 30% towards repairs (capital expense and maintenance allotments).
SECONDED by Jim Walker. (See Minutes from April 9 2014).
CARRIED.
Chancellor Search Committee
The Committee is busy, but on track. There are ongoing discussions and a number of candidates have been considered. The
Committee hopes to present a candidate to the Board before the end of the calendar year.
Evaluation of the Principal
Evaluation is in its early stages. Wendy submitted her self-evaluation in August. Peter Ringrose and Wendy will discuss what
should be included in the evaluation. An invitation for comments by a certain deadline (TBD) will be sent out to the board
and to the Principal’s direct reports.
East Asian Festival - Saturday October 3rd, 11am-2pm
Everyone is welcome to join us for the Festival, which will feature entertainment, displays, food trucks, and a beer garden.
7.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT
Activity at Renison did not slow down in the summer, with a variety of programs and courses running. Credit enrolment
numbers are slightly better than last year. The downturn in Humanities reflects activity in the Faculty of Arts. Overall there
is 3% growth, and we are happy with the quality of programs. New staff and faculty have been hired to support teaching
and student life.
Mission Brand
At the end of August Wendy held a Town Hall meeting to mark the end of her first year as Principal, and to engage in a
conversation with faculty and staff about who we are and how we express Renison’s identity within the college and to the
community. The Principal’s Report and the PowerPoint slides that were circulated as part of the Board package provide
more details.
An additional sheet was circulated at the meeting, with the word “Centers” removed. The three themes/areas of focus have
been recognized, but the language is still being refined:
 Social Engagement and Innovation (SDS; SSW)
 Global Engagement Through Languages and Cultures (APPLS, EAS, EMLS, Humanities, SI)
 Community and Professional Education (ELC, KI, King Sejong, Sakura, RIM, ACE-TESOL, all non-degree programming)
Wendy has also developed an administrative decision-making infrastructure that supports the way the college works.
 Academic Council is responsible for degree work
 CAPE Council is responsible for non-degree work
 Executive Council is composed of academic and non-academic administrators who refine, develop and implement
policies that affect the entire college, and are responsible for budgeting, long-range and strategic planning.
The board commended the Principal on developing a model that comes closest so far to expressing Renison’s identity.
Renison Research Policies
A set of policies was developed over the summer. They detail research support and clarify a number of items: institutional
support and partnership grants, course releases, the Renison Research Grant, resources from UW, taxation and CRA info,
non-tenure track faculty research support.
Faculty Compensation
Last year we reviewed salary anomalies. Now that faculty are on par with UW, the next step is to determine how we will
stay on track. The APR committee presented a model to Academic Council that includes a combination of scale increase and
SIU (Selected Increment Unit), with a non-competitive implementation plan. There was general acceptance from AC faculty,
so a policy will need to be drafted.
Appreciation to Dr. d’Ailly for her work and leadership, and to Jodi Ritter for her help with working through the financial
implications that this will have for the budget.
Financial Report
Appreciation to Jodi Ritter and her staff for the successful budget year and clean audit. First quarter financial results are on
track.
The board had previously approved a proceeding to procure a $9mil mortgage on the new building, but the full amount will
not be needed. We will commit to the financing prior to the next Board meeting.
The Auditor’s report (draft of Year End results) was sent out in second attachment. There were no surprises.
Manfred Conrad MOVED to approve the audited financial statements for 2014-2015, which will be presented to the
membership at the AGM; SECONDED by Rosita Tse.
CARRIED.
As of July 31st, payments of $10.3mil had been made towards the new building project; $6.1mil were funded by the line of
credit. $7.8mil will need financing once locked in. 90% of the 70% in the reserve fund (New Construction) was used. Jodi
Ritter asked to use the remaining 10% (approx. $271,000) towards paying down invoices for new construction. The new
building came in under budget.
Peter Townsend MOVED to use the remaining $270,000 (10%) towards new construction; SECONDED by Jim Walker.
CARRIED.
Brian Hendley MOVED to remove Doug Cowan from list of signing officers, since he is no longer Academic Dean;
SECONDED by May Yan.
CARRIED.
Parking – Capital Plan
There is a serious issue with parking. We were quoted $1mil for an additional 90 parking spots, which would bring the total
close to 200. Sessional instructors and students are unable to find parking in our lot, and parking meters only allow 2h, but
many of our classes are 3h. This is a critical problem affecting the quality of education. A business plan will be developed for
the spring.
The Chair thanked the Principal for a thorough report.
Peter Townsend MOVED to accept Principal’s Report; SECONDED by Brendon Bedford.
8.
CARRIED.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Governance Committee
 The Chancellor Search Committee material was presented as part of the Chair’s Remarks.
 The Governance Committee is consulting nominees for the board, to be approved at the AGM.
Finance and Audit Committee
 The Committee met in September to discuss the latest audit. There was nothing further to report. Appreciation to
Jodi Ritter (Director, Finance & Operations) and her team for great work on the audit.
Advancement Committee
 Caroline Tanswell reported a number of committed naming opportunities for the new building and existing
buildings. The Bryant family has agreed to lend their name to the quiet space room in the Luxton building, which
will serve as a space for prayer, meditation and reflection.
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The Luxton lower classrooms were renovated over the summer.
Former Principal Bob Rosehart will name the Student Engagement and Housing Center.
The REES lounge name now be reassigned to the rec room in the East Side Extension.
Donald Choi had originally named the Multimedia Lab (REN 2103), but the room is no longer being used for its
original purpose, so he has agreed to name one of the large classrooms in the new building.
 Appreciation to Caroline for all her effort and great Advancement work over the last few months.
Sabbatical Committee
 Acknowledgement to Melanie McKellar, Director of HR, for her efforts and working with the Principal to support
the complexity of people management in an organization undergoing huge changes.
 Dr. Arshi Shaikh is requesting a sabbatical leave from July-December 2016. It is normal for new faculty to have a 6
month sabbatical between 2 probationary terms.
 Dr. Jason Blokhuis is requesting a sabbatical leave from January-June 2017. He is an established scholar, already
tenured. He has taken a research leave before, funded by a scholarship, but this will be his first sabbatical.
Jim Walker MOVED to approve the two sabbatical requests; SECONDED by Hsiao d’Ailly.
CARRIED.
9.
OTHER BUSINESS
There were no other business items to discuss.
10.
GOVERNANCE POLICY OBSERVATION – May Yan
May Yan reported that the governance policies were well observed at this meeting.
11.
IN-CAMERA SESSION
May Yan MOVED to enter the in-camera session; SECONDED by Peter H. Roe.
CARRIED.
ADJOURNMENT
Brendon Bedford MOVED to adjourn the meeting at 7:18pm; SECONDED by May Yan.
CARRIED.
12.
BOARD/Sept 30, 2015/mt