Following meetings of the H漫画 University Senate, Dal News highlights some of the presentations and decisions made.
Senate is the university鈥檚 senior academic governing body, with membership consisting of elected representatives from Dal鈥檚 Faculties and the University Libraries, elected student representatives, a representative from the University of King鈥檚 College and Dal鈥檚 senior academic administrators. Senate is responsible for approving new programs; granting degrees/diplomas; managing the reviews of Faculties, centres and institutes; and setting academic regulations and the academic calendar.
Senate meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, from September through June. Learn more about Senate and its business at the聽Senate website.
Criteria for Revocation of Honorary Degrees
Senators voted to approve revised Honorary Degree Criteria and Procedures for the Senate Honorary Degrees Committee (SHDC) that now include criteria for the revoking of honorary degrees.
The Senate, under its constitution, has the power to grant honorary degrees, but the authority to revoke said degrees (for cause and with due process) and the procedures for doing so have not been explicitly outlined to date. Following discussion at the Senate Planning and Governance Committee and consultation with legal counsel, the new procedures were approved by SHDC and, at this meeting, by Senate as a whole.
The updated procedures will be posted to the Senate website once signed off on by the university鈥檚 Board of Governors.
Emerging Strategic Themes
Interim President Teri Balser provided an update on the university鈥檚 strategic planning process, inviting leads from various learning circles to present a high-level overview of their work.
Following initial phases 鈥斅爋ne focused on listening and broad community input, and one on voluntary 鈥渓earning circles鈥� to deepen understanding 鈥斅爐he planning process is currently centred around eight self-study teams each tasked with engaging broadly with university community and producing a report with high-level recommendations. The eight teams cover the following areas:
- research future
- culture and climate
- campus health and well-being
- future of teaching and learning
- student experience and success
- sustainability and environmental responsibility
- internationalization and global engagement
- Dal purpose and social responsibility
Senators were able to ask questions of the learning circle leads, asking about embedding diversity in the work, engagement processes going forward and more.
Dr. Balser explained that the planning process has been designed to solicit grassroots involvement in a way that values bold ideas and future-focused thinking. 鈥淚t鈥檚 determining a set of goals we agree on that are valuable for us to move towards,鈥� she explained. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a non-prescriptive approach to planning.鈥�
Other Notes
- President Elect Deep Saini was in attendance for the start of the meeting, as he was in town for business on campus for most of the week. He said it is like 鈥渁 dream come true鈥� to be coming to H漫画, and spoke of the importance of 鈥渢he collaborative nexus between administration and academic governance.鈥�
- Senate Chair Kevin Hewitt updated Senate on a number of items. He noted work to update all Senate鈥檚 terms of reference to reflect an EDI lens, the beginning of a review of Dal鈥檚 academic integrity processes, and discussions underway around work towards more equitable admissions procedures. He also highlighted the successful Senate Forum on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Learning and Teaching that took place earlier in November. Also, Senator Leonard Diepeveen was recognized for being awarded the Jay Newman Award for Academic Integrity from the University of Guelph Faculty Association.
Learn more about the聽H漫画 Senate at its website. Minutes for past Senate meetings are available on聽. Minutes for this meeting will be posted once approved by Senate.