S-03-16 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, November 11, 2003 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-03-13 to S-03-15 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA Mr. Friedlander moved, seconded by Prof. Grant, that the Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF OCTOBER 7, 2003 S-03- 13 Prof. Ewing moved, seconded by Prof. Th‚rien, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES - Minute 207.3, Minute 207.4 - Policy on E-mail Communication With Students 303.1 With reference to the question concerning whether students' departmental e-mail addresses would be considered official McGill addresses, Associate Dean Mendelson said that the Student Affairs Office would use any e-mail address for students that ended in ".mcgill.ca"; this would include departmental addresses. However, he said he would like to encourage departments to use the universal McGill e-mail address for students. 303.2 With respect to the amount of advance notice to be given in e-mail communication by the University to students, Associate Dean Mendelson said he would make sure that members were given an answer at the next Faculty of Science meeting. (4) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Scholarship Committee S-03- 14 New Award: Andr‚ Courtemanche Scholarship for Excellence in Computer Science Value: $5000 Prof. Leighton, Chair, Scholarship Committee, moved, seconded by Prof. Th‚rien, that the new scholarship be approved. The motion carried. b) Academic Committee S-03-15 SECTION A: NEW PROGRAMS 1. CONCURRENT BSC/BED PROGRAM - SCIENCE FOR TEACHERS (OVERVIEW) AC-03-15 - Major in Mathematics AC-03- 33 Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Harris, that the program be adopted. The motion carried. B.Sc. Major Concentrations: - Major Concentration in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry for Teachers AC-03-34 - Major Concentration in Chemistry with a Minor in Biology for Teachers AC-03-35 - Major Concentration in Chemistry with a Minor in Physics for Teachers AC-03-36 - Major Concentration in Physics with a Minor in Chemistry for Teachers AC-03-37 - Major Concentration in Biology with a Minor in Physics for Teachers AC-03-38 - Major Concentration in Physics with a Minor in Biology for Teachers AC-03-39 304.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that the existing BSc/BEd program would be retired after the students currently in the program graduate. The new program would be replacing the old program. Prof. Harris moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the above programs be adopted. The motion carried. SECTION B: MAJOR PROGRAM CHANGES None SECTION C: NEW COURSES 1. COMPUTER SCIENCE COMP 563 Molecular Evolution Theory AC-03- 21 3 credits Prof. Th‚rien moved, seconded by Prof. GowriSankaran, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. COMP 564 Computational Gene Regulation AC-03- 22 3 credits 304.2 There was some discussion concerning there not being any official Biology prerequisites in the proposal, but BIOL 300 and BIOL 301's being strongly recommended. 304.3 Prof. Th‚rien moved, seconded by Associate Dean Mendelson, that COMP 564 be tabled. The motion carried. 2. ATMOSPHERIC & OCEANIC SCIENCES, EARTH & PLANETARY SCIENCES, GEOGRAPHY ATOC/EPSC/GEOG 104 The Earth System AC-03- 30/31/32 3 credits Prof. Gyakum moved, seconded by Prof. Arkani-Hamed, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. 3. BIOLOGY (Overview) AC-03-40 BIOL 215 Intro to Ecology and Evolution AC-03- 41 3 credits Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOL 435 Natural Selection AC-03- 44 3 credits Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOL 569 Developmental Evolution AC-03- 45 3 credits Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOL 571 Experimental Evolution/Ecology AC-03- 46 3 credits Prof. Bell moved, seconded by Prof. Kramer, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOL 534 Theoretical Ecology AC-03-47 3 credits Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. BIOL 329 East African Ecology AC-03- 48 3 credits Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. 4. ATMOSPHERIC & OCEANIC SCIENCES ATOC 412 Atmospheric Dynamics AC-03- 57 3 credits Prof. Straub moved, seconded by Prof. Arkani-Hamed, that the course be adopted. The motion carried. SECTION D: MAJOR COURSE CHANGES 1. COMPUTER SCIENCE COMP 462 Computational Biology Methods AC-03- 20 3 credits Changes: number [from COMP 562], prerequisite Prof. Th‚rien moved, seconded by Prof. Dudek, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. 2. BIOLOGY BIOL 305 Animal Diversity AC-03- 42 3 credits Changes: title, prerequisite, description Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. BIOL 308 Ecological Dynamics AC-03-43 3 credits Changes: number [from BIOL 208], title, prerequisite, restriction, description Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the changes be approved. 304.4 Friendly Amendment: remove BIOL 205 from the list of prerequisites. The motion carried. BIOL 518 Adv. Topics in Cell Biology AC-03- 49 3 credits Changes: title, prerequisite, description Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the changes be approved. The motion carried. SECTION E: MINOR PROGRAM CHANGES SINCE COMP 564 HAD BEEN TABLED, THE FOLLOWING PROPOSALS WERE WITHDRAWN: 1. COMPUTER SCIENCE - Minor in Computational Molecular Biology AC-03- 24 - Minor in Computer Science AC-03- 23 - Major in Computer Science AC-03- 25 - Joint Major in Mathematics & Computer Science AC-03-26 - Honours in Computer Science AC-03- 27 - Joint Honours in Mathematics & Computer Science AC-03- 28 2. PHYSICS - Joint Major in Physics & Computer Science AC-03- 29 Prof. Grant moved, seconded by Prof. Burgess, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. 3. BIOLOGY - Major in Biology AC-03-50 - Honours in Biology AC-03- 51 - Faculty Program in Biology AC-03- 52 - Faculty Program in Biology & Mathematics AC-03- 53 - Minor in Biology AC-03-54 - BASc Major Concentration in Biology: Organismal Option AC-03- 55 Cell/Molecular Option AC-03- 56 Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Bell, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. 4. ATMOSPHERIC & OCEANIC SCIENCES - Minor in Atmospheric Science AC-03- 58 - Major in Atmospheric Science AC-03- 59 - Honours in Atmospheric Science AC-03- 60 - Joint Major in Atmospheric Science & Physics AC-03-61 Prof. Straub moved, seconded by Prof. Arkani-Hamed, that the program changes be approved. The motion carried. - McGill-UQAM Joint Ph.D. in Meteorology AC-03-62 304.5 Since this program had already been terminated, the retirement of the McGill-UQAM Joint Ph.D. in Meteorology was presented for information only. SECTION F: Minor Course Changes & Other (For Information Only) 1. Minor Course Changes and Other AC-03- 19 2. Minor in Science for Arts (Documents Available Upon Request) c) Other Reports or Academic Business There were no other reports or academic business. (5) DEAN'S BUSINESS - Breach of Students' Privacy 305.1 On behalf of the Faculty of Science and the Department of Physics, Dean Shaver apologized for the breach of students' privacy caused by inappropriate information having been placed on the Web. (6) REPORT ON ACTIONS OF SENATE - Senate Meeting of October 15, 2003 - Prof. N. de Takacsy Please note that the minutes of Senate are available on the web at http://www.mcgill.ca/senate/minutes/ 1. Report of the Steering Committee - Dean Fuks reported on the MUHC. He noted that the MUHC is an existing operational entity integrating most of McGill's teaching hospitals. Its facilities are currently distributed over several sites but there is every expectation that the Glenn Yards site will now go ahead since the MSSS has made a commitment of up to M$800 contingent on certain conditions being met, including the retention of a downtown presence and the ability of the MUHC to raise more than M$200 from Ottawa and in private funding. 2. Chair's remarks and report of the Principal. A selection from a lengthy presentation: Planning for the Capital Campaign is now well underway. McGill will host the 2006 ACFAS meeting. There was some discussion about the central administration's intention to do serious corporate planning that would allow more effective decision- making. The idea is to integrate the decision making about budgets, academic hiring (numbers and areas), student enrolments, research priorities, centres etc. into a single coherent process. Professor Trehearne stated that a University can't be fully summed up in terms of convenient measurables, benchmarks and standards. The Principal did not disagree but noted the need for indicators to assess progress towards stated goals. 3. Student Senator Choy asked a question related to the tradition in Arts for new professors to offer new courses related to their interests with the consequent disappearance of existing courses that students were counting on. The Provost stated that both he and the Dean of Arts want to ensure a stable curriculum in the programs offered by the Faculty of Arts. 4. The report of the University Admissions Committee on gender balance at McGill University was presented and received. (http://pc0196.admin.physics.mcgill.ca/science). 5. The annual report of the Senate Committee on Physical Development for 2002/2003 was received. The report includes a list of projects completed, under way, and in the planning stages up to Spring 2003. Success in the CFI program often requires new construction or major renovations and the cost of these could reach $104M. The University is in the middle of a 3 year space audit project. The purpose is to aid the University, Faculties and Departments in developing plans for space usage. 306.1 Prof. de Takacsy gave a presentation on the gender balance of McGill's Enrollment. The presentation can be found at: http://pc0196.admin.physics.mcgill.ca/science Dean Shaver thanked Prof. de Takacsy for the presentation. - Senate Meeting of November 5, 2003 - Prof. K. GowriSankaran Written report to be tabled. (7) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD There were no questions. (8) OTHER BUSINESS There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:12 p.m.