May 31, 2012 Meeting Summary
Board Members present: B. Elton, Chair; A. Petter, President; C. Taylor, Chancellor;
L. Brown-Ganzert; B. Cunningham; M. Fontaine; A. Giardini; J. Hinchliffe; J. Kim; N. MacKay;
G. Myers; P. Percival; J. Singh; B. Taylor
Regrets: P. Tashakor
OPEN SESSION
The Board Chair welcomed Julia H. Kim attending her first Board meeting since being appointed by Order-in-Council on April 19, 2012 for a term ending January 15, 2014.
B. Elton also welcomed David M. Poole to the open session, whose appointment to the Board by Order-in-Council will be from July 13, 2012 to January 15, 2014.
The Board Chair acknowledged the service to the University of Martin Pochurko, Associate Vice-President, Finance, who will leave SFU on June 1, 2012, and Bill Krane, retiring from the University as Associate Vice-President, Academic and Associate Provost effective August 31, 2012.
A. Finance and Administration
a. Fundraising Progress Reports: The Board noted year-to-date progress reports as
follows:
Month |
Fundraising Progress Report For Information 2011/2012 Year to Date |
To March 31, 2012 |
$39,848,330 |
| Fundraising Progress Report For Information 2012/2013 Year to Date |
|
To April 30, 2012 |
$356,191 |
b. The Board approved the Terms of Reference for the:
- Physics Graduate Scholarship Endowment Fund;
- Andrew Wade Memorial Endowment Supporting the Andrew Wade Memorial Scholarship in Visual Analytics;
- Tom Calvert Endowment Fund Supporting the Tom Calvert Graduate Scholarship.
c. The Board received for information the 2011 Annual Due Diligence Report.
d. The Board received for information the 2011 Annual Report of SFU’s Human Rights
Office.
e. The Board approved an allocation of a portion of the cumulative carry forward from the
year ending March 31, 2012 for expenditures in 2012-13.
f. The Board approved the appointment of Mr. Jacky Shen as a Trustee of the Pension
Plan for Members of the Academic Staff as University representative commencing
immediately to an indefinite term.
g. The Board approved the appointment of Dr. Jeremy Brown and the re-appointments of
Drs. Rob Grauer and Karel Hrazdil as Trustees of the Pension Plan for Members of the
Academic Staff as Faculty representatives for terms commencing July 1, 2012 and
ending June 30, 2013, June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2014 respectively.
h. The Board approved the appointments of Ms. Marina Haddad and Ms. Frenny Bawa to
the Board of the Simon Fraser University Foundation for the period May 24, 2012 to May
23, 2015, and the re-appointment of Mr. Jon Festinger for the period May 24, 2012 to
May 23, 2014.
i. The Board received for information a report about SFU’s employee injury experience and
related mitigating strategies.
j. The Board received a report from the Vice-President, Finance and Administration on the
major activities in the departments within her portfolio for the preceding two months.
B. Academic Operations
a. The Board approved the following actions recommended by Senate:
- Dissolution of the Global Asset and Wealth Management Program within the Beedie School of Business, effective fall 2012;
- Dissolution of the Geography and Economics Environmental Specialty BA Joint Major Program within the Faculties of Environment and Arts and Social Sciences, effective spring 2013;
- Full Program Proposal for a Graduate Certificate in Visual Analytics in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology within the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, effective spring 2013.
b. The Board received the following reports for information:
- 2011 Annual Report of the Senate Appeals Board;
- 2011-2012 Annual Report of the Senate Committee on University Priorities.
c. Other matters dealt with by Senate on April 2 and May 22, 2012 were noted for
information.
d. The Board received a report from the Vice-President, Academic on various academic
related matters, and copies of two publications regarding the CityStudio initiative, a
unique inter-institutional, campus-city collaboration, established by the City of Vancouver
in 2011 to develop projects and research related to urban sustainability.
C. External Relations
a. The Board discussed an update on the launch of SFU’s Vision.
b. The Board reviewed an update on the development of a community engagement
strategy linked to the launch of SFU’s Vision.
c. The Board received information about SFU Public Square, a public dialogue initiative
that will support SFU’s commitment to engaging students, research and communities,
and was informed that the launch event will take place on June 19, 2012. The Board
was further informed that SFU will partner with the Vancouver Foundation for the first
Annual Community Summit to be held in September 2012.
D. Audit
a. The Board approved the Annualized Full-Time Equivalent Enrollment Report for the year
ending March 31, 2012.
b. The Board approved the Financial Statements of the University for the year ended March
31, 2012 on the basis that the Office of the Auditor General of BC, the University’s Auditor
of Record, has indicated that an unqualified audit report for fiscal year 2011/2012 will be
issued.
E. Governance
a. The Board approved revisions to its self-evaluation instrument that members complete
biennially.
b. The Board approved, and recommended to Senate, Board Election Rules that had
previously been merged with the Senate Election Rules.
F. Other
a. The President reported on a number of activities in which he had recently been
engaged, noting in particular his participation in a delegation of 28 university presidents,
led by the Governor General of Canada, attending the Conference of the Americas on
International Education and other venues from April 25 to May 2 in Brazil. While there, a
$400,000 funding announcement was made in support of joint research initiatives
between SFU, Concordia, Ryerson, York and the Foundation for Research Support of
the State of São Paulo, an agreement was signed with the University of Campinas, and
confirmation received that 12,000 out of 100,000 Brazilian undergraduate, graduate and
post-doctoral scholars will come to Canada under Brazil’s Science Without Borders
initiative. SFU will seek to attract a portion of that number for programs that include
language training, academic study and internships.
b. A. Petter informed the Board that a successful reception for Alumni in New York City had
recently been held. While there, he also attended a 30th anniversary concert by the
Simon Fraser University Pipe Band at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on May
4, 2012.
c. The President confirmed that the University has renewed the Harbour Centre lease at
515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver.
d. A. Petter reported on the success of the Open House held at SFU Burnaby on May 26,
2012.
e. The President informed the Board that SFU placed twenty-fifth in the world and third in
North America in the 2011/2012 QS World University Rankings of 50 universities
established less than 50 years ago.
f. The Board received a report from the Vice-President, Research on research-related
matters and notable achievements.
g. The Board received a report from the University Secretary regarding recent amendments
to the University Act that have an impact on the operations of the Board of Governors,
and will require changes to the Rules of the Board of Governors (Policy B 10.01). A
Notice of Motion was made by the Chair to consider amendments to the Rules at the
Board meeting on September 27, 2012.
h. The Board Chair thanked outgoing student Board members, Marc Fontaine and Pasha
Tashakor, and faculty Board member, Paul Percival, for their service to the Board
ending May 31, 2012. The Board was informed that effective June 1, 2012, Andreas
Pilarinos has been elected by students to a one-year term ending May 31, 2013 and
June Francis has been elected by faculty for a three-year term ending May 31, 2015.
The Board Chair also thanked Gordon Myers for his service to the Board ending August
31, 2012. An election by faculty for his successor will be held.
i. The Chancellor acknowledged the six years of service to the Board by Bob Elton,
attending his final Board meeting prior to the conclusion of his second three-year term
on July 13, 2012.
CLOSED SESSION
A. Finance and Administration
a. The Board approved a five-year contract renewal with Compass Group of Canada Ltd.,
operating as Chartwells, for the provision of food services at SFU Burnaby.
b. The Board approved a three-year contract with Travel Healthcare Insurance Solutions
Inc., operating as Guard.me, for the provision of basic medical insurance for
international students.
c. The Board approved the Five-Year Capital Plan for 2013-14 to 2017-18.
d. The Board received for information a Capital Projects and Planning Program Status
Report.
e. The draft minutes of and report to the Investment Advisory Committee meeting of March
23, 2012 were received by the Board for information.
f. The Board approved the dissolution of the Vancouver Ski Club Endowment and the
Skiing Endowment Fund, and the transfer of their combined balance to a new
endowment supporting student athletes.
g. Other matters were discussed.
B. Academic Operations
a. Faculty Appointments
The following academic appointments were approved and have been accepted:
- Dr. Quian (Michelle) Zhou, Assistant Professor, Statistics & Actuarial Science,
1 Jul 12 – 31 Aug 16 - Dr. Hitoshi Shigeoka, Assistant Professor, Economics, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Mr. Songzi Du, Instructor/Assistant Professor, Economics, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Luba Petersen, Assistant Professor, Economics, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Daniela Patricia Blettner, Assistant Professor, Beedie School of Business,
1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16 - Dr. Ashley Farris-Trimble, Assistant Professor, Linguistics, 1 May 13 – 31 Aug 17
- Mr. Christopher L. Gibson, Instructor, International Studies, 1 Aug 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Keir Moulton, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Shawn Michael Bullock, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education,
1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16 - Dr. Chang Hoon Oh, Associate Professor, Beedie School of Business,
1 Jul 12 – 31 Aug 17 - Dr. Brent McFerran, Assistant Professor, Beedie School of Business,
1 Jul 13 – 31 Aug 17 - Dr. Rajiv Kozhikode, Assistant Professor, Beedie School of Business,
1 Aug 12 – 31 Aug 16 - Dr. Endre Begby, Assistant Professor, Philosophy, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Lara Aknin, Assistant Professor, Psychology, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Tanya MacGillivray, Assistant Professor, Psychology, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 16
- Dr. Ash Parameswaran, re-appointed J.L. Wighton Professor of Experimental and Laboratory Studies, Engineering Science, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 17
- Dr. Tamir Moustafa, re-appointed Jarislowsky Chair in Religion and Social Change, International Studies, 1 Jul 12 – 30 Jun 17
b. Administrative Appointments
The following administrative appointments were approved and have been accepted:
- Dr. Willeen Keough, Chair, Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies,
1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 15 - Dr. Marek Hatala, Director, Interactive Arts and Technology, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 15
- Dr. Catherine Black, re-appointed Chair, French, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 14
- Dr. Lynne Quarmby, Chair, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 15
- Dr. Hilmar Pabel, Chair, History, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 15
- Dr. Tom Perry, re-appointed Chair, Linguistics, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 15
- Dr. Neil Watson, Chair, Psychology, 1 Sep 112 – 31 Aug 15
c. Other
The Board approved:
- Modified appointment (75%), History, 1 Sep 12 – 30 Apr 13
- Extension of modified joint appointment (60%), Political Science and Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies, 1 Sep 12 – 31 Aug 13
C. External Relations
a. The Board heard an update from the President and Vice-President, External Relations
on Government Relations matters.
b. The Board heard an update from the Vice-President, Advancement and Alumni
Engagement on the development of SFU’s 50th Anniversary Campaign.
D. Audit
a. The Board received for information the Report from the Auditor for 2011/2012.
b. The Board received a briefing on the current status of Future Accounting Standards
affecting SFU.
c. The Board received for information the Internal Audit Annual Report for 2011-2012.
d. The Board received the 2011-2012 Annual Insurance and Liability Report for information
e. The Board received for information an update to the strategic Enterprise Risk
Management plan.
E. Other
a. The Board received the President’s Activities Report for March and April 2012.
b. The Board engaged in a discussion about SFU’s development of an international
strategy.
c. Other matters were discussed.
CONFIDENTIAL SESSION
a. The Board elected Mr. Brian E. Taylor Board Chair and Ms. Anne E. Giardini, Q.C.,
Deputy Board Chair for the period July 13, 2012 to the end of the January 2013 Board
meeting.
b. The Board approved the appointment of Ms. Joanne Curry as Associate Vice-President,
External Relations, effective June 1, 2012.
c. Other matters were discussed.
The next Board of Governors Meeting will be held at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at SFU Surrey, Room SUR 5360.