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Highlights from the Apr. 20, 2023, Board of Governors meeting

Office of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor | 2 May 2023
Board of Governors Highlights

Dear members of the 91社区 Community,

It is our pleasure to provide you with an update on the recent activities of 91社区鈥檚 Board of Governors. You can learn more about the Board鈥檚 mandate and membership on its

91社区鈥檚 Board held its fourth regular meeting of the 2022-2023 governance year on April 20, 2023. The full minutes of the meeting鈥檚 open session will be available following approval at the Board鈥檚 next meeting, on May 18, 2023. In the meantime, we would like to share with you the meeting鈥檚 important discussions, decisions, and developments.

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Board of Governors. If you have any questions, ideas or comments, please write mcgill.principal [at] mcgill.ca.

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Sincerely,

Deep Saini, Principal and Vice-Chancellor

Maryse Bertrand, Chair, 91社区 Board of Governors

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Key Updates

The Board of Governors, pursuant to the advice of the decanal advisory committee, approved the Principal鈥檚 recommendation to appoint of Dr. Lesley Fellows to the role of Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences for a five-year, renewable term commencing August 1, 2023 and ending July 31, 2028. Read the full announcement to the community.

The Board received, from the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee, a notice of appointment of two members at large for 91社区鈥檚 Board of Governors. The recommendation will be presented to the Board for approval at its next meeting on May 18.

On the recommendation of the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee, the Board of Governors also approved the appointments of Mr. Claude G茅n茅reux and Mr. Stephen Halperin to the rank of Governor Emeritus, commencing July 1, 2023, in recognition of their outstanding service and dedication.

The Board also received the 2022 Investment Committee Report on Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), which highlights the achievement of 91社区鈥檚 performance targets set out in the SRI strategy a full two years ahead of schedule. Among the achievements is that 91社区鈥檚 Investment Pool (MIP) holdings presently include less than 1% exposure to fossil fuel companies listed in The Carbon Underground 200 (CU200). In less than three years, 91社区鈥檚 strategy has led to an almost total divestment (99.1%) of the MIP from CU200 holdings.

In addition, following the Board of Governors meeting of February 8, the Chair of the Board reported on her subsequent consultations with senior management, the Investment Committee, and the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR). Based on the feedback gathered through these consultations, the Board decided to accelerate the review of 91社区鈥檚 SRI practices, effective immediately. This review will be led by CAMSR, which will submit a report with any recommendations to the Board before the end of the calendar year 2023.

The Board of Governors also approved, on the recommendation of the Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation), the Contribution Agreement between 91社区 and Health Canada in support of the 鈥淒ialogue 91社区 - Training and Retention of Health Professionals鈥� project.

In addition, per the recommendation of the Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation), the Board approved the inter-institutional agreement between 91社区 and the 91社区 Health Centre in support of the project entitled, 鈥淐L3 Capacity for Innovative Research and Training on Emerging and Reemerging Pathogens鈥� awarded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation under the program Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund Phase 1 (CFI BRIF-1).

The Board also received the Annual Report on Research and Innovation, which was presented by Vice-Principal (Research and Innovation) Martha Crago. The Report offers a review of 91社区鈥檚 performance in major funding programs and progress in areas related to innovation.

The Board also reviewed the Key Performance Indicators 2022 report, presented by Principal Saini. 91社区鈥檚 KPIs are a set of twenty-six metrics developed by the University to chart its progress on core activities and allows the University to set targets and track its progress towards realizing its strategic priorities.

In addition, the Board received an Overview of the Faculty of Science, including its activities, initiatives and developments, which was presented by Dean Bruce Lennox.

On the recommendation of the Building and Property Committee, the Board approved Lot 1 of 2 for the electrical distribution and infrastructure upgrade in Burnside Hall.

The Board of Governors also received a joint update from the Building and Property Committee and the Finance Committee on the implementation of the 91社区 Master Plan from a real-estate and financial perspective. The Master Plan is a dynamic document and framework that guides the physical evolution of 91社区 over the short, medium and long term.

On the recommendation of the Finance Committee, the Board approved the University鈥檚 budget for FY2024. For FY2024, a balanced budget, which includes a $10M contingency, is projected. Read the full report from the Finance Committee.

Per the recommendation from Senate, the Board approved the appointments or reappointments of academic staff members to the following committees: the Committee on Staff Grievances and Disciplinary Procedures; and the University Appeals Committee.

In accordance with the 鈥淩egulations Relating to the Employment of Tenure-Track and Tenured Academic Staff,鈥� the Board also approved the appointment of one Full Professor with Tenure, four appointments to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, and 11 appointments to the rank of Full Professor. The names of the candidates will be published in The 91社区 Reporter in due course.

Finally, as per the Report of the Joint Senate Steering and Board Executive Committees Meeting, the Board was presented with the topic of the annual Joint Board-Senate meeting, which will focus on: Building on 91社区鈥檚 record of excellence. The topic will allow Board and Senate members to consider future challenges and opportunities facing 91社区.

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Principal鈥檚 Remarks

Delivering his inaugural remarks to 91社区鈥檚 Board of Governors as Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Saini shared his enthusiasm for joining 91社区 and returning to Montreal. He also expressed his appreciation for the service of the Board members in advancing the University鈥檚 mission, and that he is looking forward to working with them throughout his mandate.

Government Relations

The Principal shared an overview of the provincial and federal budgets that were tabled in March and highlighted the implications for higher education.

On the provincial level, the Quebec government added a further $300 million of investment in universities, in addition to the previously announced $1.3 billion allocation. Spread over five years, the funding will support access to higher education, student retention, and graduation rates.

The Quebec government also reconfirmed that it will compensate universities for the shortfall of revenues resulting from a gap between the anticipated 5% increase in regulated tuition rates and the increase of 3% announced for the next four years.

On the federal level, owing to an uncertain economic climate, the 2023 budget did not include any incremental allocations for the tri-council agencies for a second consecutive year. As well, no additional funding was allocated to support graduate students, which is concerning given the rate of inflation.

Nevertheless, the Principal highlighted the Report of the Advisory Panel of the Federal Research Support System (Bouchard Report) as a positive signal. This report contains recommendations for improving Canada's research funding ecosystem and includes a call for urgent funding increases of 10% per year over five years to ensure that Canada remains competitive in the global research context. 91社区 will support collective efforts through Universities Canada and the U15 to ensure that the Bouchard Report recommendations are adequately addressed in future budgetary cycles.

Selected Kudos

The Principal closed his remarks by highlighting a selection of recent accomplishments from across the 91社区 community.

  • Prof. Johanna Ne拧lehov谩 (Department of Mathematics and Statistics) was selected by the Canadian Mathematical Society as the 28th recipient of the Krieger-Nelson Prize, which recognizes the outstanding contributions to research by a woman or female-identifying mathematician working in Canada.
  • Prof. Annmarie Adams (joint appointment in the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture and the Department of Social Studies of Medicine) has been named a Fellow of the Society of Architectural Historians.
  • Student swimmers Pablo Collin and Isabel Sarty were named male and female athletes of the year, respectively, at the 45th annual 91社区 varsity sports awards gala. Collin and Sarty were also named as their team MVPs.

Reports

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