Report: Governing Council - October 24, 2019

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Simcoe Hall, 27 King’s College Circle, Governing Council Chamber 2nd Floor Rm 214

  The Governing Council

October 24, 2019

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL held on October 24, 2019 at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Simcoe Hall.

Present:
N. Jane Pepino (Vice-Chair), Meric S. Gertler (President), Harvey T. Botting, Catherine Bragg, David N. Bowden, P.C. Choo, Janet L. Ecker, Susan Froom K. Sonu Gaind, Gary D. Goldberg, Avrum I. Gotlieb, Mallory Estelle Jackman, Sarosh Jamal, Joan Johnston, Amin Kamaleddin, Anna Kennedy, Paul Kingston, Ernest W.N. Lam, Mark Lautens, Brian D. Lawson, Jan K. Mahrt-Smith, Mohan Matthen, Douglas E. McDougall, Joanne Jean McNamara, Jun Nogami, Salvatore M. Spadafora, Andrew  Szende, Nicholas Terpstra, Wisdom J. Tettey, Laurent-Philippe Veilleux, Bruce Winter, Samra Zafar, Sheree Drummond (Secretary of the Governing Council)

Secretariat:
Cindy Ferencz-Hammond, Tracey Gamiero, Anwar Kazimi, Emma Thacker, David Walders

Absent:
Claire Kennedy (Chair), Apefa Advijon, Preet Banerjee, Andrew Girgis, Yining (Elin) Gu, Ron Levi, John Paul Morgan, W. Keith Thomas, Mark Henry Rowswell

In Attendance:
Kenneth Corts (Acting Vice-President, Operations and Acting Vice-Provost, Academic Operations), David Estok (Vice-President, Communications), Vivek Goel (Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives), Kelly Hannah-Moffat (Vice-President, Human Resources and Equity), Althea Blackburn-Evans (Executive Director, Communications Strategy and Stakeholder Relations), Bob Boeckner (Member, Business Board), Heather Boon (Vice-Provost, Faculty and Academic Life), Horatio Bot (Assistant Dean, Administration, Faculty of Arts and Science), Joshua Bowman (President, University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU)), Alex Bratt (Executive Director, Labour Relations, Office of the Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity), Elizabeth Brown (Brown Mills Klinck Prezioso), Sheila Brown (Chief Financial Officer), Christine Burke (Director, Campus and Facilities Planning), Miguel Cabral (Vice-President, University Affairs, University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union), David Curtin (Director, Communications Services, Office of the President) ,Anthony Gray (Director, Strategic Initiatives and Research, Office of the President), Angela Hildyard (Special Advisor to the President), Nadina Jamison (Chief Strategy Officer, Office of the President), Jaime Kearns (President, Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students), Arjun Kaul (Vice-President, Operations,UTSU) ,Susan Mazza (Special Projects Officer,  Office of the President), Joshua Mitchell (Director, Real Estate Partnerships), Lwanga Musisi (President, University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union), Steve Moate (Senior Legal Counsel, Office of the President), Trevor Rodgers (Assistant Vice-President, Planning & Budget), Archana Sridhar (Assistant Provost), Andrew Thompson (Chief of Government Relations), Sandy Welsh (Vice-Provost, Students)


  1. Chair’s Remarks

    The Vice-Chair welcomed members and guests to the meeting and noted that, as the Chair, Ms Claire Kennedy, was unable to attend the meeting, she was pleased to chair the meeting in her absence. The Vice-Chair then offered congratulatory and welcome remarks to Ms Olivia Batt, who had recently been elected by acclamation as a part-time undergraduate student governor.

    Finally, the Vice-Chair reported that five speaking requests had been received pertaining to student mental health.  She noted that while the item was not on the agenda the President would address it as part of his Report.  She indicated that in consultation with the Executive Committee and consistent with the practice to grant speaking privileges to executive members from ”representative campus groups" (i.e., the five student governments), the requests from the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS), the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU), the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) and the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) were granted.  A request from an unofficial student group was declined but the group was invited to submit a statement for distribution. No statement was received. The Chair added that several students, including those representing the group whose request to address the Governing Council had been declined, had had an opportunity to address both the Academic Board and the Business Board, and that this was reflected in the Reports for those bodies. of the Academic Board and the Business Board.  She noted that the UTSU had also requested to speak to item 5, the Spadina Sussex Residence, and that this request had been granted.
  1. Report of the President

    Federal Matters

    The President offered comments on the recent federal election, noting that the Members of Parliament in U of T’s ridings had been reelected - the Honourable Chrystia Freeland (University-Rosedale), the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree (Scarborough-Rouge Park), and the Honourable Iqra Khalid (Mississauga-Erin Mills). He noted that part of the current Liberal platform focused on improving student affordability and stated that the University would continue to pursue its advocacy efforts with the government. He also congratulated Professor Anita Anand, Faculty of Law, on her election as Member of Parliament for Oakville.

    Provincial Matters

    The President reported that the Hon. Ross Romano had been appointed Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities over the summer, along with Laurie LeBlanc as Deputy Minister. He noted that the portfolio had recently been restructured and ‘Training’ had been moved to the Ministry of Labour. The President noted that he had spoken to and met with Minister Romano on several occasions and had discussed how the province could better support and address the mental health needs of students. 

    The President also provided an update on the Strategic Mandate Agreement 3 (SMA3) negotiations with the MCU. He noted that the University was engaged in discussions with MCU officials to refine the government-chosen performance metrics, and finalize an institutional metric that would reflect the University’s economic impact.

    Rankings

    The President reported on recent university rankings and highlighted the following:
     
    • 2020 Times Higher Education World University Rankings – the University had moved up three places since last year to 18th overall (1st among Canadian universities, 8th among public universities globally, and 3rd among public universities in North America).
    • 2020 US News & World Report ‘Best Global Universities’ – the University had been ranked 18th overall, up two places from last year, and 3rd overall outside the United States (behind only Oxford and Cambridge). U of T had also ranked very highly in a broad range of individual subjects.
    • Reuters ‘World’s Most Innovative Universities’ – the University had been ranked 27th overall, up from 35th last year and 46th two years ago (1st among Canadian universities, and 8th overall outside the United States). The ranking emphasized successful patenting activity and research collaboration with industry.
       

Mental Health

The President began his remarks on mental health by expressing his sadness at the recent death of a student, noting that the impact of the tragedy had been felt throughout the University community.  He noted that counselling services had been put in place for students, as well as faculty and staff, and that they continued to be available. He thanked the University’s staff members who had been working closely with the student’s family and students throughout these tragic circumstances.


He reported that the Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health and the Expert Panel on Undergraduate Student Educational Experience had been meeting with students, faculty and staff on all three campuses and that he looked forward to receiving their recommendations on how to improve services and support.   

He added that mental health was a shared responsibility, and that the University was committed to working with health care providers in the community, with government partners, with hospitals, and others to tackle what was an enormous and difficult challenge that extended well beyond the University’s campuses.    

The President noted that the University was committed to promoting students’ wellbeing and success. He emphasized that supporting all students and helping them thrive were of the utmost importance. He also noted that other universities were experiencing a similar increase in demand for services, and that these trends were consistent with what we see in society as a whole. 

In closing, the President reaffirmed the University’s strong commitment to advancing the health and wellbeing of its students, faculty and staff.

The President then invited the Provost to comment. The Provost echoed the President’s comments regarding the deep sorrow felt by the University community in the wake of the tragedy, as well as the University’s commitment to the mental health of its students, staff and faculty.  The Provost noted that statistics pointed to increased mental health distress and demands for service across society, but in particular in the 10-24 age group. She also drew members’ attention to a study by researchers, that found that Canadian post-secondary students were less likely to experience mental health issues than those in their age group who were not in college or university.

The Provost then described some of the actions taken by the University to support those most affected and to strengthen student mental health services.

  • Integrated mental health training for staff of health and wellness centres, as well as training for student services staff like registrars and residence staff. 
     
  • Implementation of mental health counselling and other supports, such as accessibility counsellors and academic advisors, on-location at the Faculty and College level to make it easier for students to access services within their programs.
     
  • Introduction of same-day counselling, now available on all three campuses.
     
  • A new drop-in counselling service at Robarts Library during the spring exam season.
     
  • At the academic program level, various local reviews underway of policies and practices that impacted students.

The Chair then invited individuals who had been granted speaking privileges to address the Council:

  • Ms Jaime Kearns from APUS raised concerns that the University-Mandated Leave of Absence Policy (UMLAP) was having a chilling effect on students seeking assistance for their mental health needs.  She expressed support for the recommendation of the Ombudsperson that students who had taken a voluntary leave of absence be permitted to opt into ancillary fees that could be of assistance to them.   
  • Mr. Arjun Kaul from UTSU advocated for increased funding to student mental health supports, as well as changes to pedagogy and course evaluations. Mr. Joshua Bowman, also from UTSU, expressed concern that student voices were not being heard on this matter.
  •  Mr. Lwanga Musisi (UTGSU) and Mr. Miguel Cabral (UTMSU) delivered a statement on behalf of an unofficial student group, which outlined a series of recommendations and demands.  This included concerns related to the effects of UMLAP as well as addressing various stresses faced by students. Other recommendations included changes to the flat-fee tuition model as well as changes to classroom size, course design and pedagogy, 

In the discussion that followed, members asked questions related to next steps for the University in terms of enhancing mental health supports, and how the University was engaged in collaborative efforts to accomplish these ends. The President noted that the Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health, chaired by Professor Trevor Young, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Vice Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions, was actively engaged in examining approaches to enhancing mental health supports for students, and that it was scheduled to present its recommendations in December 2019.  He also advised that he would be raising these issues with Minister Romano at their upcoming meeting.  The Provost reported that the University would be implementing recommendations from the Expert Panel on Undergraduate Student Educational Experience, which would lead to changes related to the undergraduate educational experience in both curricular and co-curricular spheres.

The Chair thanked all speakers for their thoughtful remarks on this difficult topic. She applauded the professionalism and respect they exhibited in delivering their remarks.  The Chair also thanked the President and the Provost for their thoughtful remarks.
 

  1. Report of the University Ombudsperson for the period July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 and Administrative Response

The Chair noted that the Report of the University Ombudsperson and the Administrative Response were presented annually to the Governing Council for information.

At the invitation of the Chair, Professor Emeritus Hodnett highlighted some of the matters raised in the Report.  Professor Emeritus Hodnett stated that in her role as Ombudsperson, her focus was on ensuring fairness.  She added that based on her experience over the past year, in her opinion, the University-Mandated Leave of Absence Policy was both evidence-based and fair – to the students to whom it had been applied as well as to the University community. She also expressed serious concern that the criticism of the Policy as expressed by some of the speakers might result in students who need help being afraid to seek it. 

Professor Emeritus Hodnett expressed her satisfaction with the ongoing dialogue with administration to address those matters raised in her Report; and on the overall quality and clarity of the Administrative Response. She added that her Office would work with Office of the Vice-President, Communications, to promote the services of the Office of the Ombudsperson across the University community.

The Provost noted that the University was grateful to the Ombudsperson for agreeing to review the cases that were addressed under the University-Mandated Leave of Absence Policy in its first year of implementation.

The Provost also outlined the ways in which the three recommendations made in the Ombudsperson’s Report would be addressed. In particular, the Provost highlighted that the School of Graduate Studies and the Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation were working on a new “Healthy Labs Initiative” which would develop and disseminate resources and ideas on creating optimal laboratory environments for students and faculty.
 

  1. Capital Project: Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Landscape of Landmark Quality

Ms Christine Burke provided a brief overview of the project, which focussed on reclaiming the historical core of the campus from car traffic and improving student, staff and faculty experience.  She also reported on the extensive consultation process that had taken place.

The Chair of the Academic Board, Professor Terpstra provided an overview of the discussion that had occurred at that Board.

On motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved

THAT the Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Landscape of Landmark Quality, dated August 23, 2019, be approved in principle; and,

THAT the project totaling 86,340 square metres (sm), including a below-grade parking structure area totalling  9,075 gross square metres (gsm), and an entrance pavilion totalling 100 gross square metres (gsm) above grade, be approved in principle, to be funded by fundraising, Future Major Capital Project Reserves and financing.
 

  1. Capital Project: Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Spadina Sussex Residence

Ms Christine Burke provided a brief overview of the project, reporting that the new residence would address much needed residence space for students.  She also outlined lengthy engagement with the city and neighboring community. 

The Chair of the Academic Board, Professor Terpstra provided an overview of the discussion that had occurred at that Board.

The Chair invited Mr Joshua Bowman to make remarks on behalf of the UTSU. Mr. Bowman spoke to the importance of affordable residence space for low-income students and the need for accessible residence facilities.  Ms Burke noted that a substantial number of the residence rooms (15%) would offer barrier-free access.

In the discussion that followed, members emphasized the need for increased accessibility for buildings on campus in general.  The Chair noted that, as a member of the University’s Design Review Committee, she could confirm that accessibility issues were  fully taken into account as part of the University’s planning and design process.

On motion duly made, seconded and carried 

It was Resolved

THAT the Project Planning Committee Report for the Spadina Sussex Residence, dated August 30, 2019, be approved in principle; and, 

THAT the project totaling 19,328 gross square metres (gsm), be approved in principle, to be funded by University Provostial Funds, Daniels Corporation, and financing.
 

  1. Capital Project: Geothermal System at King’s College Circle

Mr. Ron Saporta provided a brief overview of the project, noting that the project would result in 20% of the total carbon reduction planned for the University by 2030.  In addition, the project offered a great experiential learning experience for students.

On motion duly made, seconded and carried 

It was Resolved

THAT the King’s College Circle Geothermal Feasibility Report, dated September 21, 2018, be approved in principle; to be funded by financing and Central Utility Funding.

CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved

THAT the consent agenda be adopted and items on it approved.
 

  1. Academic Board Terms of Reference Revisions

    On a motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved

THAT the proposed revised Academic Board Terms of Reference be approved, effective immediately, replacing the Terms of Reference approved on October 26, 2017.

  1. Report of the Previous Meetings of the Governing Council – September 4, 2019

    The minutes of the previous meeting of the Governing Council were approved.
     
  2. Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting

    There was no business arising from the report of the previous meetings.
     
  3. Reports for Information

Members received the following reports for information:

  1. Report Number 37 of the Pension Committee (May 22, 2019)
  2. Report Number 213 of the University Affairs Board (September 26, 2019)
  3. Report Number 223 of the Academic Board (October 3, 2019)
  4. Report Number 37 of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Council (September 25, 2019)
  5.  Report Number 37 of the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus Council (October 2, 2019)
  6. Report Number 248 of the Business Board (October 7, 2019) 
  7. Report Number 507 of the Executive Committee (October 15, 2019)
  1. Date of Next Meeting - Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 4:30pm

The Vice-Chair advised that the next meeting of the Governing Council was scheduled for December 12, 2019.
 

  1. Question Period

The Chair noted that a member had submitted questions in advance concerning the University’s role in the judicial review of the Student Choice Initiative and what steps, if any, would be taken if the Student Choice Initiative was found to be invalid. Professor Welsh responded by confirming that the University was closely monitoring the proceedings but that it was premature to speculate as to future actions by the University concerning the proceedings or the outcome of those proceedings.
 

  1. Other Business

There was no other business.

The Governing Council moved in camera

  1. Update: University Pension Plan Ontario [“the UPP”]

Professor Angela Hildyard, Presidential Special Advisor provided an update on the UPP.

  1. Capital Project: Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Landscape of Landmark Quality – Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding

On a motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved

THAT the recommendations concerning Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding for the Landscape of Landmark Quality project, as outlined in the memorandum from Professor Scott Mabury, dated October 17, 2019, be approved.
 

  1.  Capital Project: Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Spadina Sussex Residence – Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding

On a motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved

THAT the recommendations concerning Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding for the Spadina Sussex Residence, as outlined in the memorandum from Professor Scott Mabury, dated October 17, 2019, be approved.

  1. Capital Project: Geothermal System at King’s College Circle – Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding

On a motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved 

THAT the recommendations concerning Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding for the King’s College Circle Geothermal project, as outlined in the memorandum from Professor Scott Mabury, dated October 17, 2019, be approved.
 

  1. Capital Project: New Student Residence at University of Toronto Scarborough – Further Revised Total Project Funding and Sources of Funding

On a motion duly made, seconded and carried

It was Resolved

THAT the recommendations concerning the revised Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding for the New Student Residence at University of Toronto Scarborough, as outlined in the memorandum from Professor Scott Mabury, dated October 17, 2019, be approved.

The meeting adjourned at 6:34 p.m.

October 25, 2019