Minutes of the Departmental Meeting on December 12, 2006
Present: R. Abhari, P. Aggarwal, B. Boulet, J. Clark, D. Davies, K. Fraser, W. Gross, K. Johnson, G. Joos, P. Kabal, R. Khazaka, H. Leib, E. Lotayef, S. Mannor, L. McKenna, P. Menon, D. Plant, I. Psaromiligos, M. Rabbat, R. Rose, I. Shih, T. Szkopek, A. Wojciechowska, Z. Zilic.
Regrets: T. Arbel, F. Labeau.
The meeting was called to order at 3:05 pm.
- Approval of the Agenda:
K. Fraser, seconded by E. Lotayef.
Carried. - Approval of the Minutes (October 24, 2006):
Correction: In item 4, the sentence “Finally, he noted that the department office is open from 8:00pm – 5:00pm” should read “Finally, he noted that the department office is open from 8:00am – 5:00pm.”
R. Rose, seconded by I. Shih.
Carried. - Remarks from the Chair
D. Plant made the following announcements:- The Dean has appointed an ECE Department Chair Search Advisory Committee. The members of the Committee are R. Abhari, B. Boulet, F. Galiana (elected members), and Jorge Vinals(External Member from the Dept. of Physics (nominated).
- D. Plant congratulated and thanked the members of the Committee and added that it is his intention to apply for the permanent position if he is asked to do so.
- D. Plant introduced the 4th new faculty member, M. Rabbat from University of Wisconsin. His research area is Sensor and Sensor Networks.
- The Chair continues to meet with the department’s leadership team considering items such as: human resources and Compact results, IT planning, space planning, teaching assignments and professional registration.
- D. Plant congratulated the Department and the members of the ECE Review Committee (J. Webb, B. Champagne, Z. Zilic and I. Psaromiligkos) for the timely completion of the departmental review. The Faculty of Engineering was the first in the University to complete review of all its units.
- The Chair announced that the department will hire 3 more new professors this year. The hiring process will start in January and an advertisement will appear in January issue of the IEEE Spectrum. The Chair’s Advisory Committee and the Chair will work on defining the target areas. He encouraged the members of the department to provide feedback either to him or to the Advisory Committee. In addition, it is planned to make certain modifications to the interview process.
- The department’s Compact Request for a new permanent position at the front office was approved. This person will report to D. Davies. In the meantime, K. Gross will continue on with us for 3-days/week starting January.
- D. Plant announced that R. Quik will join D. Morzajew’s team in the Faculty of Engineering, in January 2007. In addition, certain administrative units within the Department will be receiving their IT support from the Faculty of Engineering effective January 1, 2007. Finally, A. Shehada will be leaving effective January 22, 2007.
- The Chair is working with the Associate Chairs and the Research Space and Infrastructure Planning Committee, and will be launching a two phase space reorganization plan. Meetings with individuals implicated in the first phase (to be completed by February 15, 2007) are currently underway. The 2nd phase will follow shortly after the completion of the 1st phase.
- D. Plant reminded all those present that the ECE Departmental Party is on Thursday, December 14th starting at 3:00pm.
- New Faculty Policy / New Department Financial Policy
D. Plant reminded the department of the new Faculty Financial Policy for Expense reports and P-Cards. This new policy will be used as an opportunity to create more services for the professors. Effective January 3rd, 2007, A. Wojciechowska, the Departmental Finance Clerk, will be executing a detailed review of all Expense Reports to identify problems and, working with the claimant, make corrections locally. The objective is to speed up processing of expense reports by catching and correcting problems before sending the reports for signature to the Faculty. P. Kabal asked if the claimant should transmit the information electronically. A. Wojciechowska replied that the forms should be filled out electronically as usual; when they are printed for the Chair’s signature, she will then review them before she forwards them to the Faculty. J. Clark remarked that the changes affect mostly P-Card reconciliation. D. Plant announced that a memo will be sent out to the academic staff with information on this issue. The department will help and will house the P-Card receipts but the process will be self-directed. - College Liaison Committee – McGill Open House, Jan 28th, 2007
R. Abhari announced that the McGill Open House will be on Jan. 28th, 2007, and asked for participation of the faculty to organize lab tours. For each department there will be an information kiosk at the McDonald building where people will gather before they go on lab tours. The lab demos and presentations will be 5 minutes long. In total, four lab tours will be given. Based on last year’s experience, the most successful presentations were given from TAs and graduate students. D. Plant added that it is important to recruit students and encouraged the faculty members to help at the Open House. Faculty members interested in hosting a lab tour should contact R. Abhari. - Update on Professional Registration
- B. Boulet announced that eleven (11) faculty members have started the process of registering or have become professional engineers. Most of them have applied to PEO (Professional Engineers of Ontario). He reminded the department that the application and registration fees are covered by the Faculty and the University’s Professional Development Allowance.
- B. Boulet reminded the department that he is also in charge of Teaching Assignments. Faculty members offering 600-level courses should send e-mail to him and to P. Menon to have the courses approved and then activated.
- Other business
D. Plant wished everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. - Motion to adjourn:
P. Kabal, seconded by S. Mannor at 3:35pm.
Carried.
I. Psaromiligkos, Secretary