S-98-6 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, September 8, 1998 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-97-41, S-97-42 S-98-1 to S-98-5 Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:10 p.m. Dean Shaver welcomed Prof. Morton Mendelson, the new Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science. (1) RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH OF PROFESSOR SVENN ORVIG, DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC SCIENCES 101.1 Prof. J. Derome read a formal resolution on the death of Prof. Orvig (Appendix B, attached to the permanent copy of the minutes). The resolution was passed unanimously. (2) MINUTES OF MAY 26, 1998 S-97-41 Prof. Kramer moved, seconded by Prof. Farrell, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the minutes. (4) ANNOUNCEMENTS 104.1 Dean Shaver said that since announcements concerning awards, achievements and promotions were being circulated via e-mail on a regular basis, he would not list these. He reminded members that these types of announcements would be routinely circulated, and that the Faculty would appreciate being informed about awards, achievements and promotions. He said they would form part of the minutes. Such announcements will comprise Appendix A of the minutes of each Faculty meeting. 104.2 Dean Shaver welcomed back from sabbatical leave Prof. L. Devroye, School of Computer Science, and Prof. R. Doig, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences. 104.3 Dean Shaver announced that Prof. D.N. Harpp from the Department of Chemistry had agreed to serve as Chair of that department. (5) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Sub-committee on Scholarships S-97-42 (for information) 105.1 Prof. GowriSankaran, Chair, Faculty of Science Scholarships Sub-Committee, presented the Report of the Sub-committee on Scholarships for in-course awards. (i) New Scholarship S-98-2 - Robert Nicholls Scholarship - Value $3,000 105.2 Prof. GowriSankaran announced that a new scholarship had been approved by the University Scholarships Committee. The scholarship will be awarded to a student with high academic standing who will be entering the second year of studies in the Faculty of Science. 105.3 After Prof. Farrell raised a question concerning the wording of the terms of the Robert Nicholls Scholarship, Dean Shaver asked Prof. GowriSankaran to further consult with Prof. Farrell. b) Nominating Committee S-98-1 105.4 Dean Shaver said the Nominating Committee consisted of the nine senators representing the Faculty of Science. (1) The Faculty of Science Standing Committee on Computing 105.5 The above committee is composed of three different workgroups: (a) the Workgroup on Instructional Computing; (b) the Workgroup on Administrative Computing and (c) the Workgroup on Technology. Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Roulet, that the membership of the above committee be approved. The motion carried. (2) Committee On Student Standing Prof. Paquette moved, seconded by Prof. Doig, that the membership of the above committee be approved. The motion carried. (3) Academic Committee Prof. Carroll moved, seconded by Prof. Derome, that the membership of the above committee be approved. The motion carried. (4) Faculty Planning Committee (for information) (5) Committee On Materials Science 105.6 Dean Shaver said the Committee on Materials Science had been dormant for a number of years. This committee was originally instituted in response to the construction of the Wong Building. The need for this committee has arisen again because there are initiatives within the Faculty to develop a CFI application for a materials facility. There has also been a working paper from professors in the Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Chemical Engineering and Mining and Metallurgy asking about the possibility of an institute or some sort of centre for materials research. In response to that initiative, Dean Shaver stated that the chairs would be requested to nominate two members to Faculty for the purpose of reactivating the Committee on Materials Science. Dean Shaver said that the proposed membership of this committee would be submitted to Faculty at a future date. (6) Scholarships Sub-Committee 105.7 Dean Shaver announced that he was pleased that Prof. GowriSankaran had agreed to serve as Chair of this committee for 1998-99. In keeping with past practice, the members of this committee would be appointed in consultation with the Associate Dean by nominations from the departments. (7) Tenure Committee (for information) (8) Leo Yaffe Award Committee 105.8 Dean Shaver said the membership of this committee had been increased in order to better represent all departments offering a B.Sc. degree. He said there would also be two students (and six alternates) on the Leo Yaffe Award Committee. (9) Senate Nominating Committee 105.9 Dean Shaver said the convenor of this committee was Prof. Farrell. The committee consists of the nine Senators representing the Faculty of Science. c) Committee on Student Standing S-98-3 105.10 Associate Dean Mendelson said there had been three CSS meetings scheduled, and that the details were outlined in the CSS report (S-98-3). He said one meeting had been cancelled due to lack of business, and the next scheduled meeting would be on September 15, 1998. (6) DEAN'S BUSINESS There was no Dean's business. (7) McGILL SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT(MSE) - Prof. N. Roulet: Report S-98-4 107.1 Prof. Roulet, on behalf of Prof. J. Fyles, introduced and highlighted the main points of the MSE report (S-98- 4). Prof. Roulet answered members' questions. - Prof. J. Rasmussen: Introduction of Prof. Peter Brown, new MSE Director 107.2 Prof. Rasmussen, Chair of the Search Committee for a director for the MSE, first thanked Dean Shaver for the tremendous amount of work Dean Shaver did on behalf of the MSE, and for the support he showed for it. 107.3 Following Prof. Rasmussen's description of Prof. Peter Brown's broad qualifications and background, Prof. Rasmussen introduced Prof. Brown as the new Director of the MSE. Prof. Rasmussen said that due to Prof. Brown's commitments at the University of Maryland, he would be working 40 percent of the time at McGill until May 31, 1999. Prof. J. Fyles would continue to be Associate Director until May 31, 1999. 107.4 Prof. Brown thanked Prof. Rasmussen for his generous welcome. He said that he had already had the good fortune to work with Dean Shaver and had learned a lot from Dean Buszard (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Science) and Dean Miller (Faculty of Arts), as well as from members of the Executive Committee of the MSE. These members are Professors J. Fyles, who will continue to be Associate Director, J. Rasmussen, N. Roulet, C. Green, C. Scott, M. Scott, C. Potvin, and Ms. K. Molgaard. Prof. Brown said that he would like to build the MSE into a world-renowned school and seek what the world needs which in his view is to question things at the most fundamental level and thereby to build excellence. He also thanked members for this opportunity for intellectual and emotional growth. 107.5 Dean Shaver thanked Prof. Brown and welcomed him to McGill. Dean Shaver also thanked Prof. J. Rasmussen and the Search Committee for all the excellent work they had done. Dean Shaver said he was very pleased to thank Prof. J. Fyles for acting as Director and for continuing to serve as Associate Director. He said this would provide continuity for Prof. Brown, the Executive Committee and McGill. He said this had been a very interesting experience and he looked forward to the future. (8) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD 108.1 In response to Prof. GowriSankaran concerning overcrowded classrooms in Science courses and the fact that the university would not be making any room changes until September 13,1998, Dean Shaver said the enrolment figures from ARO were on target and that the Faculty was being kept up-to-date on the registration figures. He said there had been a considerable amount of discussion about scheduling problems, which were compounded by the number of inaccessible classrooms in the Faculty of Engineering, due to extensive renovations there, as well as by renovations and projected renovations in the Faculty of Management and in the Alliance Building. There might also be problems due to the new Law Library, which is still incomplete. He said he was not surprised that many problems were being experienced by professors in Science and that he would look into the situation with the Faculty's room scheduling officer. In the meantime, faculty should try to do the best they can to accommodate Science students. 108.2 Prof. Farrell said that due to projected December renovations, there may be serious problems with seating during the December examination period. Prof. Farrell asked Dean Shaver to tell the Faculty to tell students that this is likely to occur and that nothing can be done about it. (9) FACULTY OF SCIENCE SENATORS S-98-5 (10) OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:56 p.m. josie\facsci\fmn1998sf