S-97-18 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, December 2, 1997 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-97-15, S-97-16, S-97-17 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. (1) MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 11, 1997 S-97-15 Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Mucci, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (2) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the Minutes. (3) ANNOUNCEMENTS 403.1 Dean Shaver announced that five professors from the Faculty of Science had been appointed to the rank of Emeritus Professor, to be conferred at the June 1998 Convocation. They are: Prof. John F. Harrod, Department of Chemistry; Prof. John B. Lewis, Department of Biology; Prof. William O.J. Moser, Department of Mathematics & Statistics; Prof. Christopher Conway Paige, School of Computer Science; and Prof. Rolf Sattler, Department of Biology. Dean Shaver said there is a selection process at McGill for appointment to the rank of Emeritus Professor, with very high standards. He said this appointment reflects an outstanding academic career. On behalf of the Faculty of Science, Dean Shaver congratulated the five new Emeritus Professors. 403.2 Dean Shaver congratulated Prof. Kelvin K. Ogilvie, a former professor in the Department of Chemistry at McGill, who will be receiving an Honorary Doctor of Science from McGill at the June 1998 Convocation. He said Prof. Ogilvie is well known for being the first person to synthesize tRNA. Prof. Ogilvie was also heavily involved in the introduction of automated oligonucleotide synthesis. He then became the President of Acadia University, where he is implementing new approaches to education. 403.3 Dean Shaver announced that Astra Pharma Inc. and the MRC/PMAC Health Program, in collaboration with the Canadian Anaethetists' Society and Canadian Pain Society, had named a post-doctoral fellowship award in honour of Prof. Ronald Melzack, Department of Psychology. The name of the award is the 'Dr. Ronald Melzack Award in Pain Control.' The award is to support Canadian research relevant to pain management. Dean Shaver congratulated Prof. Melzack. 403.4 Dean Shaver announced that there had been two NSERC Strategic Grants awarded relating to the Saguenay floods. Prof. Charles Lin, Department of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, was awarded $500,000 over a three- year period. The title of his project is "The Simulation of Severe Precipitation and Flash Flood Events Using a High Resolution Regional Atmospheric Model and Hydrological Model." The other NSERC Strategic Grant was awarded to Prof. Jacques Locat, DÇpartement de GÇologie et GÇnie GÇologique, l'UniversitÇ Laval. Prof. Locat is the primary investigator of a team which includes as major contributors Prof. A. Mucci, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, and Prof. Emilien Pelletier, INRS- Oceanologie, a former graduate of the Department of Chemistry. This grant is for $685,120 over a five-year period, with an additional $500,000 for hiring ship- time. The award is to study the sediments in the Saguenay Fjord. Dean Shaver congratulated both Prof. Lin and Prof. Mucci. 403.5 Dean Shaver announced that Mr. Patrick Hayden, currently an undergraduate student in the Departments of Physics, and Mathematics & Statistics, had been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. (4) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Committee on Student Standing (CSS) S-97-16 404.1 Associate Dean de Takacsy said there had been a CSS meeting in November, 1997. He said there had been one request for readmission, which had been approved by the committee. b) Academic Committee S-97-17 REPORT ON MINOR COURSE CHANGES (AC-97-31) (for information) SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE BSc Internship Programs (AC-97-26) - Major in Computer Science - Honours in Computer Science 404.2 Associate Dean de Takacsy introduced the Internship Programs. He said the Internship programs have been in existence for some years, operated by the Faculties of Engineering and Science. The programs include 8-16 months of work experience. He said there is an office (the IYES Office) that administers the programs, i.e., contacts industries, government agencies, etc., and processes applications, etc. Associate Dean de Takacsy said that recently the government has made it a requirement that the internship be part of a degree program. Hence, the proposed Science internship programs follow the lead of those in the Faculty of Engineering. Internship programs will not be mandatory, but they will make accessible a number of internship positions that are under the control of the Civil Service Commission. 404.3 Dean Shaver said the proposed internship programs are identical to the current BSc programs, except for the inclusion of the internship as a required component. He said students would enter regular programs, and on obtaining an internship, would then switch into the internship program. Students would complete the internship, and then return to McGill to finish the degree program in the normal fashion. 404.4 In response to questions, Dean Shaver said there were no credits for the internship program, and there would be no monitoring. He said that students gain practical experience, and these programs often lead to employment. Dean Shaver said these programs existed at other universities. 404.5 In reply to another question, Dean Shaver said that currently there were a lot of internships for students in Computer Science, fewer in Mathematics & Statistics, and in Physics. There are many other internships for students in the Faculty of Engineering, but presently the above three Science departments represent the only areas involved. He said there had been discussions to try to enlarge the internship programs to the pharmaceutical industry and to biotechnology, which could then conceivably involve the Departments of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, and possibly others. If this occurs, those departments would be contacted. Prof. ThÇrien moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the BSc Internship Programs in the School of Computer Science be adopted. The motion carried. PHYSICS BSc Internship Programs (AC-97-27) - Faculty Program in Physics - Major in Physics - Honours in Physics - Joint Honours Program in Physics & Mathematics - Joint Faculty Program in Mathematics, Chemistry & Physics - Joint Major Program in Physics & Atmospheric Science - Joint Major Program in Physics & Geophysics Prof. Barrette moved, seconded by Prof. ThÇrien, that the BSc Internship Programs in Physics be adopted. The motion carried. MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS BSc Internship Programs (AC-97-28) - Major in Mathematics - Honours in Mathematics - Honours in Applied Mathematics - Honours in Probability & Statistics - Joint Majors in Mathematics & Computer Science - Joint Honours in Mathematics & Computer Science Prof. Drury moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the BSc Internship Programs in Mathematics & Statistics be adopted. The motion carried. PSYCHOLOGY New Course: 204-531 Structural Equation Models (AC-97-29) 3 credits 404.6 In reply to a question concerning the prerequisite courses, 204-435B and 204-651B, for the proposed Psychology 204-531 course, Prof. White said that 204- 531 will be offered to both undergraduate and graduate students. He said that Psychology 204-435 would be taken by undergraduate students, and that 204-651B, a required course for Psychology graduate students, would be taken by graduate students. Prof. White said the content of these two prerequisite courses was not identical. Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Mucci, that the above course be adopted. The motion carried. New Course 204-533 International Health Psychology (AC-97-30) 3 credits 404.7 Associate Dean de Takacsy said that at the Academic Committee meeting of November 18, 1997, it had been decided that the course description should be changed slightly. Associate Dean de Takacsy read the change in course description, #13, document #AC-97-30. "... on health problems (malnutrition, alcohol abuse, mental illness, family planning, and HIV) where psychosocial factors play a large role in the problem and the solution. Attempted solutions..." Prof. White moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the above course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOLOGY 177-358B Canadian Flora (AC-97-36) 3 credits Changes: course description & prerequisite Prof. Bell moved, seconded by Prof. Kramer, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. 177-365A Conservation Biology (AC-97-37) 3 credits Change in course number from 177-455. Prof. Bell moved, seconded by Prof. Kramer, that the change be approved. The motion carried. New Course: 177-535B Political Ecology (AC-97-35) 3 credits Prof. Bell moved, seconded by Prof. Kramer, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOCHEMISTRY 507-312B Biochemistry of Macromolecules (AC-97-66) 3 credits Change in course description. Prof. Baines moved, seconded by Prof. White, that the change be approved. The motion carried. 507-454A Nucleic Acids (AC-97-67) 3 credits Change in course description. 404.8 Associate Dean de Takacsy said that at the Academic Committee it had been decided to add the following to the course description, #13, document AC-97-67: "...Chemistry of RNA and DNA, transcription of DNA and.." 404.9 In reply to Associate Dean de Takacsy, Prof. Baines agreed that the addition of "of DNA" was not necessary, and that it should be removed, pending consultation with the Department of Biochemistry. Prof. Mucci moved, seconded by Prof. DasGupta, that the change be approved, pending consultation with the Department of Biochemistry. The motion carried. 507-455B Neurochemistry (AC-97-68) 3 credits Change in course description. Prof. Barrette moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the change be approved. The motion carried. (5) DEAN'S BUSINESS There was no Dean's business. (6) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD There were no members' questions. (7) REPORT ON ACTIONS OF SENATE* Prof. Baines - Senate Meeting of November 5, 1997. Issues of interest for the Faculty of Science in the 5 November Senate meeting included a report of the Student Appeal Committee. Three of five cases were upheld or dismissed but the remaining two illustrated continuing problems; (a) a faculty failed to follow an appropriate process thereby leading to a much longer process of appeal and counter-appeal; (b) the final case appealed the single final negative graduate oral defence on the grounds that the student was not allowed an opportunity to be re-assessed. This case is pending. The 10th report of the Ombudsperson for Students indicated the usual spectrum of complaints without any truly unique differences. There appear to be an increasing number of problems in graduate admissions and continued complaints concerning the comprehensive and thesis defence examinations. As staff leave McGill or terminate research programs for lack of funding, there has been an increase in breakdown of student:supervisor relationships leaving students with an incomplete program and without a supervisor. In the 293rd report of APPC the recommendations of the workgroup on examination security was discussed. Many of the recommendations to eliminate opportunities for cheating in examinations were based on common sense and were readily endorsed. The vice principal admitted that the number of reported cases of cheating was low. The recommendation that copies of all examinations be placed in a public location initiated extensive discussion. The libraries stated that the do not have the staff to administer the reserve copies of examinations. It was suggested that course coordinators could place copies of examinations on their departmental academic web pages, post them at their respective copy centres or sell them through the bookstore. The standard course description form will have a box to permit staff to indicate whether or not they want to release their examinations. In the 294th report of APPC the academic merit of electronic publications was discussed. These scholarly works would count for hiring, reappointment, promotion, tenure and merit if they were peer reviewed and if they were listed in appropriate citation indexes. Questions on the value of copyrighted software and patents for similar career purposes elicited a negative response for the Vice Principals who stated that these were not peer reviewed. The conflict of interest policy was discussed. While the covering letter indicated that broad consultation had been obtained, there was doubt expressed that the relevant staff associations had directly approved the policy. After much discussion, the policy was approved as amended. The bottom line for academic staff is that if there is a potential conflict you MUST report to your superior and ask for a ruling as to whether a real conflict exists. Whatever the ruling, it would be advisable to get it in writing and resolve the conflict. If you then ignore the advice of the committee of assessors, serious discipline could result. There was a discussion concerning recourse available to Ph.D. students who fail oral examinations. *Senate documents are available in the Dean's Secretariat for consultation. (8) OTHER BUSINESS 408.1 In response to a request from Associate Dean de Takacsy, Prof. Roulet informed members that the MSE programs and course proposals had been approved by NRCP on November 27, 1997, and that they would be presented to APPC on December 4, 1997. The meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m. f:\usr\josie\facsci\fmn7df