S-03-6 FACULTY OF SCIENCE Meeting of Faculty Tuesday, September 9, 2003 Leacock Council Room - L232 ATTENDANCE: As recorded in the Faculty Appendix Book. DOCUMENTS: S-02-48, S-02-49 S-03-1 to S-03- 5 Dean Shaver welcomed members back, and said that he hoped they had had a good and relaxing summer. Dean Shaver called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. (1) ADOPTION OF AGENDA Item 5(d), Disciplinary Officer Report (S-03-5), to be added to the Agenda. Item 6, Introduction of Mr. Louis Houle, Head, Schulich Library of Sciences and Engineering, to be added to the Agenda. Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Ewing, that the amended Agenda be adopted. The motion carried. (2) MINUTES OF MAY 20, 2003 S-02- 48 Prof. Merrett moved, seconded by Prof. Ewing, that the minutes be approved. The motion carried. (3) BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES There was no business arising from the Minutes. (4) SEATING OF STUDENT MEMBERS S-03- 1 104.1 Dean Shaver welcomed the student representatives to the first Faculty of Science meeting of the year, and said he was looking forward to their active participation. (5) REPORTS OF COMMITTEES a) Scholarship Committee S-02- 49 105.1 Prof. Leighton, Chair, Science Scholarship Committee, presented the June 2003 Scholarship Report. Prof. Leighton moved, seconded by Prof. Gyakum, that the Scholarship Report be approved. The motion carried. b) Nominating Committee S-03- 2 105.2 Dean Shaver explained the role of the Nominating Committee. (1) Committee on Student Standing (CSS) 105.3 Dean Shaver said that Prof. R. Martin would continue as Chair of this Committee. 105.4 Associate Dean Mendelson pointed out that although he was a member of the Nominating Committee, since the CSS hears appeals of his decisions, he had not been involved in the selection of the membership of the CSS. (2) Academic Committee 105.5 Prof. Ewing said that Prof. T. Meredith would be the representative from the Department of Geography. (3) Science Chairs' Council 105.6 Dean Shaver said that there were two new chairs: Prof. John Gyakum, Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences and Prof. John Stix, Earth & Planetary Sciences. (4) Committee on Materials Science 105.7 Dean Shaver said that because the McGill Institute for Advanced Materials had been approved by Senate, the Nominating Committee was recommending that the Committee on Materials Science be abolished. (5) Scholarships Committee 105.8 Dean Shaver said that Prof. H. Leighton agreed to continue as Chair of this Committee. (6) Tenure Committee 105.9 Dean Shaver said that membership of the Tenure Committee comprises representatives from the Faculty of Science as well as representatives nominated by Senate. (7) Leo Yaffe & Principal's Prize Committee 105.10 Dean Shaver said that Prof. L. Hermo agreed to continue as Chair of this Committee. (8) Animal Care Committee 105.11 Dean Shaver said that Prof. A. Chaudhuri, Department of Psychology, agreed to continue as Chair of the Animal Care Committee, and represent the Faculty on similar university-level committees. (9) Science Nominating Committee 105.12 Dean Shaver said the Nominating Committee consisted of the Science Senators. He added that there would be an election in the Fall to replace Prof. J. Rasmussen, who had left the university. (10) Ad Hoc Constitution Review Committee 105.13 Dean Shaver said that since the mandates of this Committee had been completed, the Nominating Committee was recommending that the Committee not be renewed. Prof. GowriSankaran moved, seconded by Prof. Schmidt, that the recommendations of the Nominating Committee be approved. The motion to approve the complete report carried. c) Committee on Student Standing S-03- 3 (for information) 105.14 Associate Dean Mendelson pointed out the report to members. d) Other Reports or Academic Business (i) Examination Statistics S-03- 4 105.15 Associate Dean Mendelson said that over recent years the number of exams written in the Faculties of Arts and Science had increased significantly, leading to problems with time and space. 105.16 Associate Dean Mendelson answered members' questions. Secretary's Note: A slightly revised version of the exam- statistics document is attached to the permanent copy of the Minutes. (ii) Disciplinary Officer S-03- 5 105.17 Associate Dean Mendelson, Disciplinary Officer for the Faculty of Science, drew members' attention to the report of the Disciplinary Officer. (6) DEAN'S BUSINESS (i) Enrolment 106.1 Associate Dean Mendelson said that applications from Ontario had greatly increased due to the "double cohort" graduating from Ontario high schools. Apparently as a result of this, applications from the rest of Canada had increased. Applications from the U.S. had also increased. Since students were applying to more universities than was normal, it was not initially known how many extra students McGill would be taking. He said that the enrolment statistics were still preliminary, and that he would report back to Faculty after registration was closed for the semester. 106.2 Dean Shaver added that McGill would aim to keep the enrolment relatively constant in order to take advantage of McGill's recent hirings to decrease the student:professor ratio. (ii) Schulich Library of Sciences and Engineering 106.3 Dean Shaver introduced Mr. Louis Houle, head of the Schulich Library of Sciences and Engineering. 106.4 Mr. Houle said that he had become head of the library in May 2003, and he described his role. He welcomed members' suggestions concerning any aspect of the library. (7) MEMBERS' QUESTION PERIOD There were no members' questions. (8) OTHER BUSINESS Dean Shaver invited members to the Faculty of Science Beginning-of-Term Reception. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m. FacultyMinsSept.doc