The meeting was held at 3:00 p.m. in Room 330, Stevenson-Lawson Building.
PRESENT: Ms. C. McAulay-Weldon, Chair, Ms. J.K. Van Fleet, Secretary
Mr. J. Adams, Mr. S. Adams, Dr. W.A. Bridger, Dr. R. Colcleugh, Dr. P. Davenport, Mr. J. Etherington, Mr. T. Garrard, Mr. W. Gibson, Ms. S. Grindrod, Ms. R. Ivey, Mr. D. McDougall, Mr. R. McFeetors, Dr. K. McQuillan, Dr. P. Mercer, Dr. G. Moran, Dr. P. Neary, Mr. T. O'Neil, Mr. W.W. Peel, Mr. M.Pickard, Dr. R.J.Rylett, Mr. H.W. Taylor, Mr. T. Vine, Mr. M. Weyers, Ms. L. Whittaker, Mr. R. Yamada
The President reported on the following:
Overheads used to highlight his presentation are attached as Appendix 2 to these minutes. Details of his report appear in Appendix I, distributed with the agenda for the meeting.
It was moved by D. McDougall, seconded by J. Adams,
That the Board of Governors approve the proposed space allocation in new buildings as set out in "SuperBuild Facilities at Western: Space Allocation in New Buildings" (Appendix II, Annex 1).
Mr. Etherington asked for further clarification of the plan to discontinue teaching large classes in Alumni Hall. Dr. Moran replied that the Alumni Hall auditorium is needed for the rapidly expanding activity-based programs in the Faculty of Health Sciences. These programs are degree-credit courses. Teaching currently done in Alumni Hall will be transferred to the new 700 and 800 seat classrooms. Teaching in Alumni Hall requires a special skill because of the design of the auditorium; using the auditorium as a classroom is not an efficient use of the building. Consultation with the deans revealed that an 800 seat classroom is the largest size classroom that is needed.
Mr. Taylor voiced concern that the Board is asked to approve a proposal without receiving all the details and could this proposal be "accepted." Mr. McDougall stated that the Property & Finance Committee did review the proposal in detail. The Chair stated that the Board is responsible for approving the construction of new buildings and is responsible for approving the allocation of space within the buildings.
The question was called and CARRIED
It was moved by D. McDougall, seconded by R. McFeetors,
That the Board of Governors approve:
• The projected enrolment for the University to the year 2004-05, as shown in Appendix II, Annex 2; and
• The University's enrolment plan as described in a letter from President Paul Davenport to the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities dated September 28, 2000, shown in Appendix II, Annex 3.
CARRIED
It was moved by D. McDougall, seconded by W. Gibson,
That the Board of Governors authorize the purchase of 48 Compaq systems to be manufactured and assembled for delivery in April 2001 at a cost of $4.8 million, upon final CFI approval.
CARRIED
It was moved by D. McDougall, seconded by R. Yamada,
That the Board of Governors approve the establishment of the Vicky Blair Fellowship in Vascular Surgery, under the terms of reference detailed in Appendix II, for a period of ten years, based on a generous expendable gift from Mr. William Blair.
CARRIED
The Board received for information the 2001-2002 Planning Guidelines (Appendix II, Annex 4) that are issued to academic and administrative units. Dr. Moran stated that the budget planning process is well underway with the goal that preliminary budget recommendations will be presented to the Board in January 2001.
Dr. Mercer stated that Western's defined contribution pension plan means that a surplus is not available for the University's use. He explained that other universities have been on permanent contribution holidays for sometime. If Western's situation were similar to McMaster University or Guelph University with respect to a pension surplus, using the calculations provided by those universities, Western would have another $10 million in the operating budget. Queen's University's pension situation is similar to Western's and Queen's faces the same difficulties in balancing the budget.
The Quarterly Financial Reports: Operating and Ancillary Budgets, detailed in Appendix II, Annex 5, was provided for information.
The Report on Scholarships, detailed in Appendix II, Annex 6, was provided for information.
Information on the critical injury accident detailed in the Report on Environmental Incidents and/or Safety Incidents, contained in Appendix II, page 4, was received for information.
Dr. Mercer reported that for several years complaints have been received about the air quality at Althouse Faculty of Education Building. Investigations revealed that the culprit is a mold on the ceiling tiles. Plans are in place to correct this situation.
The Board received a report on the public meeting of the Campus and Community Affairs Committee held on October 2, 2000. At this meeting representatives of the Hippocratic Council of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry made a presentation about tuition fees and financial assistance for medical students. Details are found in Appendix III.
It was moved by R. McFeetors, seconded by W. Gibson,
That the Board of Governors approve amendments to By-Law No. 1, as detailed in Appendix IV, Annex 1.
CARRIED
It was moved by R. McFeetors, seconded by W. Gibson,
That the terms of reference of the Property & Finance Committee (Special Resolution No. 1-B) be amended as shown in Appendix IV, Annex 2.
CARRIED
It was moved by R. McFeetors, seconded by W. Gibson,
That the terms of reference of the Campus & Community Affairs Committee (Special Resolution No. 1-D) be amended as shown in Appendix IV, Annex 3.
CARRIED
At the Board meeting of September 28, 2000, a number of administrative titles were changed by resolution. Accordingly, the By-Laws Committee has authorized the Secretary of the Board to amend university policies to reflect those changes. The affected former and new titles are listed in Appendix IV.
It was moved by J. Etherington, seconded by S. Adams,
That the Board of Governors approve the following meeting schedule for the Campus & Community Affairs Committee for 2001:
Thursday, January 11 (if needed)
Thursday, March 8 - Public Meeting
Thursday, April 5 - Public Meeting (including Code of Student Conduct)
Thursday, June 14 (if needed)
Thursday, October 11 - Public Meeting (focus on budgetary issues)
Thursday, December 6 - Public Meeting
(All meetings begin at 5:00 p.m.)
CARRIED
An exhibit detailing the schedule of the Code of Student Conduct was distributed at the meeting. The Chair explained that Senate, at its meeting of November 17, referred the Code of Student Conduct to an ad hoc Committee. The Code of Student Conduct, in its current form, will be presented to CCAC at an open meeting on December 11, 2000. CCAC will delay its deliberations concerning a Code until the April 5th meeting. This schedule allows the ad hoc committee to provide any advisory report or commentary to Senate and CCAC before the Board considers the Code of Student Conduct at its meeting of May 3, 2001.
It was moved by J. Adams, seconded by S. Grindrod,
That the May 2001 meeting of the Property & Finance Committee be held on May 14 (not on May 7 as earlier scheduled).
CARRIED
The Board received brief biographical information on newly elected Board members Dr. Jane Rylett, Dr. Kevin McQuillan, and Ms. Melissa Parker, and re-elected Board member Susan Grindrod (Appendix V, page 1).
At the September 28, 2000, meeting, the Board implemented the new format for Board meetings, as approved on June 28. Based on that experience, the following minor adjustments will be made:
At its meeting on September 28, the Board of Governors delegated to the Senior Operations Committee the responsibility for naming the staff member to the Strategic Planning Task Force. The Senior Operations Committee, at its meeting of October 23, 2000, ratified the appointment of Sue Desmond to the Strategic Planning Task Force, as recommended by the Presidents of the non-faculty employee groups. Sue Desmond is the President of the UWO Staff Association.
The Board was informed of appointments made by the Senior Operations Committee on behalf of the Board to the London Museum of Archaeology, as recommended by the Directors of the Museum.
The membership of Tom Vine on the Standing Committee on Campus Recreation has been extended from February 2001 to November 2001.
It was moved by R. Ivey, seconded by J. Adams,
That the Board of Governors approve the terms of reference of The Western Fund as detailed in Appendix VI.
CARRIED
It was moved by J. Etherington, seconded by W. Gibson,
That the Board of Governors authorize an ad hoc improvement, effective January 1, 2001, to all retirees under the Administrative Staff Pension Plan who retired on or before December 31, 1985, as Special Members of the Pension Plan, and surviving spouses, to be funded from the surplus funds in the Administrative Staff Pension Plan. The schedule for the increases would be:
Maintain 70% Purchasing Power:
For those who retired in 1984 or earlier, 4.65%
For those who retired in 1985, 2.71%
CARRIED
The projected costs for these improvements total $65,000.
The Administrative Staff Pension Board has approved the funding of these improvements by use of surplus funds in the Administrative Staff Pension Plan.
It was moved by W.W. Peel, seconded by W. Gibson,
That the Board of Governors authorize an ad hoc improvement, effective January 1, 2001, to all retirees under the Academic Staff Pension Plan who retired on or before December 31, 1985, as Special Members of the Pension Plan, and surviving spouses, to be funded from the surplus funds in the Academic Staff Pension Plan. The schedule for the increases would be:
Maintain 70% Purchasing Power:
For those who retired in 1984 or earlier, 4.65%
For those who retired in 1985, 2.71%
CARRIED
The projected costs for these improvements total $270,000.
The Academic Pension Board has approved the funding of these improvements by using the surplus funds in the Academic Staff Pension Plan.
It was moved by P. Davenport, seconded by J. Rylett,
That the Board of Governors approve the establishment of a policy on the Standardized Training in Animal Care and Use as shown in Appendix VIII, Annex 1, to come into effect January 1, 2001.
CARRIED
Senate reported the establishment of the following programs:
The report of the Academic Development Fund - Small Grants Competition: 2000-01 Spring Awards, contained in Appendix VIII, Annex 2, was received for information.
The report of the Academic Colleague on the 252nd meeting of the Council of Ontario Universities, detailed in Appendix VIII, Annex 3, was provided for information.
The annual report of the Senate Committee on Promotion and Tenure I, detailed in Appendix VIII, Annex 4, was received for information.
The annual report of the Senate Committee on Promotion and Tenure II, detailed in Appendix VIII, Annex 5, was received for information.
There were no appeals to the Senate Committee on Appeals in 1999-2000 and therefore no Annual Report from the Committee.
The Board was informed of recent appointments to academic administrative positions within the University. These are listed in Appendix VIII, page 3.
[Exhibit distributed at the meeting]
An exhibit detailing the establishment of an ad hoc Committee re Code of Student Conduct was distributed at the meeting.
The Board received selected media clippings, detailed in Appendix IX, about Dr. Davenport.
Mr. Etherington asked that Foundation Western be complimented on their provision of a friendly, thorough report recently received on a family funded scholarship. Mr. Garrard advised that as part of the agreement with Foundation Western, the reporting process is outsourced to the University and is produced by the Alumni Relations and Development staff. He agreed to convey the commendation.
Responding to Dr. Colcleugh request, Dr. Davenport stated that Mr. Asad Wali, Western's Government Relations Officer, will be invited to address the Board in the new year.
The meeting adjourned at 4:25 p.m.
Signed by:
C. McAulay-Weldon, Chair
J.K. Van Fleet, Secretary