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 fifth and final regular meeting of the 2022-2023 governance year on May 18, 2023. The full minutes of the meeting鈥檚 open session will be available following approval at the Board鈥檚 next meeting, on October 5, 2023. In the meantime, we would like to share with you the meeting鈥檚 important discussions, decisions, and developments.听
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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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 Professor Viviane Yargeau to the role of Dean of the Faculty of Engineering for a five-year, renewable term commencing on July 1, 2023, and ending on June 30, 2028. Read the full announcement to the community.
The Board, pursuant to the Regulations Relating to the Employment of Tenure Track and Tenured Academic Staff, approved: the granting of tenure to three individuals, the promotion of 51 individuals to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure, the promotion of five individuals to the rank of Full Professor, the appointment of one Full Professor (Clinical), and the appointment of three Associate Professors with Tenure. The names of each candidate will be published in The 91社区 Reporter in due course.
The Board, on the recommendation of the Nominating, Governance and Ethics (NGE) Committee, also approved the appointments of Mr. Alan Desnoyers and Mr. Arun Bajaj as a members-at-large of the Board of Governors of 91社区, each for a four-year term commencing July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2027.
Mr. Desnoyers is the Regional Vice-President, Quebec Region and Eastern Canada for RBC Wealth Management 鈥� Private Banking and brings extensive experience in private banking, commercial banking, and integrated markets. He holds a B.Com from 91社区 and previously served in various leadership roles on the 91社区 Alumni Association Board of Directors. He is currently Chair of the Information Technology Committee of 91社区鈥檚 Board of Governors and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.
Mr. Bajaj is the Executive Vice-President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Gildan Activewear Inc. In this role he leads the global human resources function and oversees legal affairs. He holds a B.C.L, LL.B. from 91社区 and was recently appointed as a member of the University鈥檚 HR Committee of the Board of Governors.
Also on the recommendation of the NGE Committee, the Board approved the recommendations in the Report of the Board Efficiency Project, which aim to increase the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Board鈥檚 governance functions and operations. The recommendations, which relate to Board standing committee structures and mandates, contract approval thresholds, and Board evaluation practices, to name a few, are the result of a special project that was initiated by the Chair of the Board of Governors and led by a working group, which met on a regular basis between February and May 2023.
For its information, the Board received the Report of the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR). Following the Board of Governor鈥檚 decision of April 20, 2023 authorizing CAMSR to accelerate the 2025 review of 91社区鈥檚 SRI practices, effective immediately, the Report outlined the next steps that CAMSR will follow to this effect, namely that the Committee will submit a report with any recommendations emerging from this review to the Board by the end of the 2023 calendar year. The Board was also informed that CAMSR received an expression of concern from members of the 91社区 community. The Committee will meet again to further analyze the expression and report back to the Board in due course.
In the closed session, the Board of Governors also received for their information an Overview of the Integrated Communications & Marketing Plan for the New Vic Project, as well as an Overview of the University鈥檚 Sponsorship Framework, which were both presented by Louis Arseneault, Vice-Principal (Communications and External Relations).
The Board approved several new and revised policies. It approved a Policy on Academic Freedom, which results from in-depth, extensive consultations with stakeholders across the University and meets the requirements of the Act Respecting Academic Freedom in the University Sector, while adhering to 91社区鈥檚 Mission and Principles. The Board also approved a , which replaces the now-repealed Policy on Safe Disclosure. In terms of policy revisions, the Board approved amendments to the Emergency Management Policy and the . Finally, as recommended by the NGE Committee and the Human Resources Committee, the Board approved the proposed revisions to the .
On the recommendation of the NGE Committee, the Board approved the appointments of representatives of the Board of Governors to the advisory committees for: the selection of the Dean of the Faculty of Education, as well as the possible reappointments of the Vice-Principal (University Advancement) and the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning).
Finally, per the recommendation of the NGE Committee, the Board also approved the appointment of members to the Finance Committee, Board representatives to Senate, and University representatives to CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-I鈥樏巐e-de-Montr茅al.
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Principal鈥檚 Remarks
Principal Saini shared remarks on a wide range of recent developments from across 91社区鈥檚 campuses.
On April 28, the Principal participated in the Canada First Research Funding (CFREF) announcement at Concordia University, which was attended by the Honourable Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, along with other university heads and dignitaries.
At the event, Minister Champagne announced $1.4 billion in support of 11 major research initiatives, of which 91社区 is the recipient of a landmark $165 million CFREF grant, the largest federal research investment in 91社区鈥檚 history.
The grant will launch DNA to RNA: An Inclusive Canadian Approach to Genomic-based RNA Therapeutics (D2R), which will benefit from expertise of over 50 partners in industry and academia and brings the total investment in D2R to $353 million.
The Principal commended the fairness of the CFREF selection process, which saw major grants allocated to a broad diversity of Canadian universities and research projects.
The Principal also shared an update from recent U15 and Universities Canada meetings that he attended. During the U15 meeting, executive heads exchanged with Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Janice Charette, Clerk of the Privy Council. They also met with Minister Champagne and emphasized the importance of making new investments in research, science, and innovation in Canada. At the Universities Canada meeting, the Principal attended a session on Women and Talent, featuring Julie Cafley, Executive Director of Catalyst Canada, and Sophie D'Amours, Rector of Universit茅 Laval.
The Principal also provided an update on the New Vic Project. On April 20, the Superior Court of Quebec that allows an archaeological investigation of the former Royal Victoria Hospital site to move forward, thus ending the injunction proceedings which prevented excavation on the site. The agreement has been established between the Mohawk Mothers, 91社区, the Soci茅t茅 qu茅b茅coise des infrastructures (SQI), the MUHC, the City of Montr茅al and the Attorneys General of Qu茅bec and Canada.
In addition, the Principal signaled the upcoming Spring Convocation ceremonies, which will begin on May 30, and will be preceded by the Principal鈥檚 Installation Ceremony on the morning of May 29. The Principal reiterated his enthusiasm about joining 91社区 and having the opportunity to preside over his first graduation ceremonies at the University. He also mentioned that 91社区 is pleased to confer honorary degrees upon 17 inspiring individuals this year, including to the Chair of the Board of Governors Emeritus, Ram Panda.
In addition to the 15 official convocation ceremonies, several special celebrations are being held across 91社区鈥檚 campus to mark this milestone, including Black Grad, the Indigenous Scarf Ceremony, and a Lavender Grad.
Finally, the Principal concluded his remarks by offering kudos to a selection of individuals in the 91社区 community for their recent achievements.
- Prof. Cindy Blackstock (School of Social Work) has been named a finalist for the 2023 World鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Prize (WCP). Previous winners include Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu.
- Dr. Samuel Benaroya (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) was presented with the M茅daille de l鈥橝ssembl茅e nationale, in recognition of his impact on Qu茅bec鈥檚 health education and care.
- The Ordre de l鈥檈xcellence en 茅ducation du Qu茅bec has named Prof. Susanne Lajoie (Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology) a Distinguished Fellow in recognition of her significant contribution to the quality of education in Qu茅bec.
- Prof. Hanadi Sleiman (Department of Chemistry) has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society for her ground-breaking work producing DNA nanostructures for precision drug delivery.
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Reports
- Report of the Information Technology Committee
- Annual Report on the Policy on Safe Disclosure (鈥淲histle Blowing鈥�)
- Report from Senate
- Report of the Audit and Risk Committee
- Report of the Nominating, Governance, and Ethics Committee
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