S-97-5 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, September 9, 1997 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-96-42, S-96-43 S-97-1 to S-97-4 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. (1) RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH OF PROFESSOR LEO YAFFE, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY 101.1 Prof. I. Butler read a formal resolution on the death of Prof. Yaffe (Appendix A, attached to the permanent copy of the minutes). The resolution was passed unanimously. (2) RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH OF PROFESSOR DAVID SIMKIN, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY 102.1 Prof. I. Butler read a formal resolution on the death of Prof. Simkin (Appendix B, attached to the permanent copy of the minutes). The resolution was passed unanimously. (3) MINUTES OF MAY 20, 1997 S-96-42 Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Barrette, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (4) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the minutes. (5) ANNOUNCEMENTS 105.1 Dean Shaver announced that three McGill professors, Prof. Howard Bussey, Department of Biology, Prof. Claudio Cuello, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and Prof. Emil Skamene, Montreal General Hospital, had been elected Fellows of The Royal Society of Canada by the Academy of Science. Dean Shaver mentioned that this announcement had been e-mailed to Faculty members during the Summer. On behalf of the Faculty of Science, Dean Shaver congratulated the three professors. (6) REPORTS a) Sub-committee on Scholarships S-96-43 (for information) 106.1 Prof. GowriSankaran noted that the Report of the Sub- committee on Scholarships comprised the usual awards, listed in the Science section of the Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards Calendar. b) Nominating Committee S-97-1 106.2 Dean Shaver mentioned that the Nominating Committee consisted of the nine Senators representing the Faculty of Science. He said that the Report of the Nominating Committee listed the committees of the Faculty of Science, and their members. Prof. Farrell moved, seconded by Prof. Butler, that the report be adopted. The motion carried. c) Committee on Student Standing (CSS) S-97-2 106.3 Associate Dean de Takacsy commented briefly on the role of the CSS, using 1996 as an example. He said that about 70 Science students in unsatisfactory standing had been readmitted, either by the CSS or by the Associate Dean (acting on behalf of the CSS). Of these 70 students, six had graduated, 30 had regained satisfactory standing, 28 had fallen again into unsatisfactory standing, and six were of undetermined standing. Associate Dean de Takacsy said that the success rate was about 50-50, which was about as good as could be expected, because if the CSS was too harsh, it would probably be unfair to some students who could be quite capable of earning a degree, and if too lenient, it would waste the students' time, and lower the academic standards of the Faculty. d) Enrolment Statistics S-97-3 106.4 Associate Dean de Takacsy reported information additional to that contained in Document S-97-3. He said that although enrolment figures were not yet definitive, enrolment was in general relatively stable, with a slight decrease. Associate Dean de Takacsy said there were currently 958 newly admitted Science registrants for Fall 1997; there had been 976 in Fall 1996, and 1032 in Fall 1995. There was no decrease in the number of students coming from Canadian high schools, but there was a slight decrease in the number of students admitted from Quebec CEGEP's. In 1995, there were 461 students from CEGEP's; the corresponding figures for 1996 and 1997 were 405 and 388, respectively. He added that the numbers could change somewhat by the end of the course change period. 106.5 Dean Shaver pointed out that 53% (1587 Males, 1805 Women) of Science students were women. (7) DEAN'S BUSINESS There was no Dean's business. (8) REPORT: McGILL SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT(MSE)- Prof. Catherine Potvin (on behalf of Prof. Nigel Roulet, Interim Director, MSE) S-97-4 108.1 Prof. Potvin summarized the main points of the Report on the MSE. 108.2 Prof. Potvin clarified members' questions and concerns regarding the MSE report. 108.3 Dean Shaver thanked Prof. Potvin for presenting the report, and also thanked the MSE Executive Committee for their excellent work during the Summer. (9) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD There were no questions. (10) REPORT ON ACTIONS OF SENATE* Prof. Rigelhof - Senate Meeting of May 21, 1997 The business of Senate began with two questions by Senator Noumoff: One, on the proposed Vice-Principalship (Information Systems and Technology), dealt basically with the consultation process to arrive at the mandate, with respect to librarians. The second question concerned the Sergent affair. Vice-Principal (Academic) Chan presented the 291st report of APPC. There was only a single item, which concerned establishing an award for distinguished teaching in the Faculty of Education. Senate approved. The Senate Nominating Committee Report was approved. There were amendments to the 'Handbook of Regulations and Policies for Academic Staff:' All visiting academic staff are designated Visiting Professor without distinction as to rank. This will also apply to visiting librarians. There was a motion to amend the statutes, since the change of name from Graduates' Society to Alumni Association required changes in the statutes. The final budget for 1997-98 was presented by Vice- Principal (Administration & Finance) Heaphy. It was essentially the budget presented in February. The budget was balanced, and included an amount from the endowment fund towards the debt. Changes from the February budget included the reduction of new student fees from $255 per year to $140. ($140 = $80 registration fee plus $60 new information technology fee.) Principal Shapiro commented that beginning next year, the budget would show the complete operating costs for the university, and include capital funds as well. There was further discussion of the document 'Renewal at McGill.' There were reports on administrative and support staff positions, and academic staff changes. *Senate documents are available in the Dean's Secretariat for consultation. (13) OTHER BUSINESS 113.1 Prof. Butler announced that there will be a special memorial service for Professor Leo Yaffe on Friday, September 26, 1997, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., in Redpath Hall. Prof. Yaffe's family will be present. Prof. Butler said there would be about seven speakers, who will be talking about different aspects of Prof. Yaffe's life. He said that the service will be announced across campus via e-mail, and will be advertised in 'The McGill Reporter' and 'The Gazette.' He asked members to invite people who would like to attend the service. Coffee and cookies will be served. The meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m. f:\usr\josie\facsci\fmn7sf