Report: Academic Board - April 23, 2020

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Via Virtual Meeting Room

REPORT NUMBER 227 OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD 
Thursday, April 23, 2020 

To the Governing Council,
University of Toronto  

Your Board reports that it held a virtual meeting on Thursday, April 23, 2019 at 4:10 p.m. with the following members present:
Nicholas Terpstra (Chair), Doug McDougall (Vice Chair), Cheryl Regehr (Vice-President and Provost), Vivek Goel (Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives), Scott Mabury (Vice-President, Operations & Real Estate Partnerships), Susan McCahan (Vice-Provost, Academic Programs & Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education), Benjamin Alarie, Nadia Al-Banna, Larry P. Alford, Catherine Amara, Stephanie Anagnostou, Laura Anderson, Aarthi Ashok, Joshua Barker, Harvey T. Botting, Catherine Bragg, Shauna Brail, Nicole Breakey, Markus Bussmann, Samantha Chang, Carol C. Chin, Caryl L. Clark, Shadi Dalili, Ettore Vincenzo Damiano, Amrita G. Daniere, Jim Davis, Raisa B. Deber, Luc F. De Nil, Lisa Dolovich, Paul Downes, David Dubins, Wendy M. Duff, Arda Erturk, Angela Esterhammer, Nicholas C. Everett, Zhong-Ping Feng, Susan Froom, K. Sonu Gaind, Emily Gilbert, Gary D. Goldberg, Sol Goldberg, Tara Goldstein, Peter Gooch, J. Connie Guberman, Janneka Guise, Daniel A. Haas, Emily Hawes, Richard Hegele, Edsel Ing, Mallory Estelle Jackman, Ira Jacobs, Sarosh Jamal, Oria James, William Ju, Allan S. Kaplan, Jeannie Kim, Anil Kishen, Ronald H. Kluger, Daiana Kostova, Lisa Kramer, Cara Krmpotich, Ernest W.N. Lam, Angela B. Lange, Ron Levi, Paul E. Lindblad, Ben Liu, Siyi (Megan) Liu, Zhiyuan (Annie) Lu, Maureen MacDonald, Alexandra MacKay, Jan K. Mahrt-Smith, Lance McCready, Don McLean, Bonnie S. McElhinny, Kent G.W. Moore, Lacra Pavel, Dana Phillips, Mary Pugh, Lewis Rose, Nicholas Rule, Rosa Saverino, Suzan Schneeweiss, Michael Shier, Jastaran Singh, Rozina Somani, Markus Stock, Truc Tran, Patricia Windrim, Melanie A. Woodin, Christopher Yip, Trevor Young, Rachel Zand 

REGRETS: 
Nina Bascia, Randy Boyagoda, Adalsteinn (Steini) I. D. Brown, Jiayi (Caroline) Chen, George Christakis, Nathalie Des Rosiers, Edward M. Iacobucci, Linda Johnston, Glen A. Jones, Amin Kamaleddin, Charlie Keil, Fei-Fei Liu, Tiff Macklem, Emmanuel Nikiema, Jennifer Purtle, Anne Simmonds, Richard M. Sommer, James Stafford, Dexter Voisin, Njoki Wane 

NON-VOTING ASSESSORS:
Heather S. Boon (Vice-Provost, Faculty and Academic Life), Trevor Rodgers (Assistant Vice-President, Planning and Budget), Wisdom J. Tettey (Vice-President and Principal UTSC)

IN ATTENDANCE: 
Ernie Avilla (Project Development Lead, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy), Daniella Mallinick (Director, Academic Programs, Planning and Quality Assurance, Office of the Vice- Provost, Academic Programs), Heather Miller (Vice-Dean, Teaching & Learning, UTM), Jay Pratt (Vice-Dean, Research & Infrastructure, Faculty of Arts & Science), Andrea Russell (Director, Academic Affairs, Office of the Vice-President and Provost), Archana Sridhar (Assistant Provost, Office of the Vice-President and Provost), Soo Min Toh (Director, Institute for Management & Innovation, UTM)

ITEMS 4, 5 AND 12 ARE RECOMMENDED TO THE GOVERNING COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.  ITEM 3 AND 6 WERE APPROVED.  ALL OTHER ITEMS ARE REPORTED FOR INFORMATION. 

Pursuant to section 33(i) of By-Law Number 2, 
Item 12 was considered in camera. 


OPEN SESSION 

1. Chair’s Remarks 

The Chair welcomed members and guests, and made some introductory remarks regarding the transition to virtual meetings given the impacts of COVID-19. 

2. Report of the Vice-President and Provost 

Professor Cheryl Regehr, Vice-President and Provost, provided an update as of April 23, 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 and its many implications for the University.  The Provost was assisted in her presentation by Professor Vivek Goel, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives.  

In the course of their remarks, the Provost and Professor Goel addressed the following: 

  • Phase 2 of the University’s Crisis Response Framework, namely Crisis Recovery Planning 

  • Academic Disruptions 

  • Research 

  • Convocation 

  • Student Bursaries 

  • Mental Health, Wellness and Accessibility Services 

  • Enrolment 

  • Academic Integrity related to online assessments 

  • Cleaning Protocols upon reopening 

In response to members’ comments and questions, the Provost stated the following: 

  • Decisions to open certain facilities and services, including libraries would be made in accordance with public health advice. 

  • Most summer courses had moved online. 

  • As anticipated, summer enrolments appeared to be indicating that they would be higher than in the past 2 years. 

  • With regard to the Fall term, there remained a number of unknowns, but enrolment modeling capacity was increasingly sophisticated, which would help the University prepare for a variety of scenarios for the Fall term. 

  • To date, Fall registration numbers remained consistent with registration numbers for this time of year.  

  • The range of materials for instructors on creating online assessments was being increased in order to address some concerns regarding academic integrity and online examinations.  

  • Regarding cleaning protocols upon reopening, any kind of return to campus would be dependent on having continued control measures in place, and could include protocols related to the use of personal protective equipment, maintaining physical distancing, increased frequency of cleaning of high touch-points, and screening questions.  

  • The Emergency bursary was available to part-time students. 

  • The transition to virtual care in providing for student health, including mental health supports, had been successful.   

3. Proposal to establish an Academic Pharmacy at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy 

The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy proposed to develop a fully-accredited Academic Pharmacy.  Professor Regehr was invited to introduce this item.  She was joined by Professor Lisa Dolovich, Dean of Pharmacy, who also spoke to the proposal. 

Highlights of the presentation included the following: 

  • the primary goals of the Academic Pharmacy would be furthering: 

    • student experiential learning; and 

    • innovative and  practice-based research 

  • the Academic Pharmacy would also offer dispensary and pharmacy counselling services to faculty, staff, and students at the University, with possible pop-up locations across the three campuses at different times 

In response to a member’s question, Professor Lisa Dolovich, Dean of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy clarified that pharmacy students were already working with an impressive set of experiential sites across the province and country and receiving excellent training, and that the expectation was not that all students would only have their experiential leaning in the Academic Pharmacy.  She added that the hope was that the Academic Pharmacy would become a hub for innovative practices and another means of faculty development.  

A member asked for clarification about the restriction on public access to the pharmacy, and how the pharmacy would facilitate the restriction of services to faculty, staff, and students only.  Provost Regehr responded that the pharmacy was an extension of the university health and wellness centre and that the identity of students, faculty, and staff could be confirmed via T-Cards, as has been done recently with flu-shot clinics on campus. 

On motion duly moved, seconded and carried 

YOUR BOARD APPROVED 

THAT the proposal, The Development of an Academic Pharmacy at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, dated March 9, 2020, be approved in principle. 

4. Capital Project: Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Centre for Civilizations, Cultures and Cities (“CCC” or 90QP) 

The Board received a presentation from Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, University Operations & Real Estate Partnerships. Professor Mabury reported that site had been owned by the University for over a decade, and that a great deal of thought had gone into how to position and utilize the space.  He noted that the architect selected had created a design that supported the location’s heritage.  The location would house several faculties, representing a collaborative and innovative interdisciplinary approach. 

In response to members’ questions Professor Mabury noted the following:  

  • the mechanical penthouse of the building would not be open to public and would be used to house mechanical items;   

  • the delivery corridor between the ROM and the Faculty of Music used by students to get across campus, was a loading dock zone and held inherent safety issues; 

  • conversations about space for indigenous studies were ongoing and continued to evolve  and mature.

On motion duly moved, seconded and carried 

YOUR BOARD RECOMMENDED 

THAT the Report of the Project Planning Committee for the Centre for Civilizations, Cultures and Cities, dated March 10, 2020, be approved in principle; and,  

THAT the project totaling 7,139 net assignable square metres (nasm) 17,790 gross square metres (gsm), be approved in principle, to be funded by Future Major Capital Project Reserves, Divisional Operating Reserves, Fundraising (Divisional), Divisional Borrowing, Fundraising (Institutional), Institutional Borrowing (ROM) and Institutional Borrowing (University).  

5. Proposal to Establish and Extra-Department Unit A (EDU:A), Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI), University of Toronto Mississauga 

Following some introductory remarks from the Provost, the Board heard from Professor Amrita Daniere, Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean at UTM.   Professor Daniere stated that there was a distinct need for change in the organizational structure of IMI to support its programs, creative mission, and its growth trajectory. The transition to an EDU:A would allow faculty to hold their primary appointments in IMI.  

In response to a member’s concern that there was dissent among faculty in the Faculty of Management about the unit conversion, Dean Daniere reported that the IMI Directors were very strongly in favour of the conversion, that commitments regarding faculty appointments had been agreed to in various written communications, that the consultation process had been extensive, and that the proposal had been approved at the UTM Campus Council and Campus Affairs Committee. 

On motion duly moved, seconded and carried 

YOUR BOARD RECOMMENDED 

THAT the proposal to establish the Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI) (Extra-Departmental Unit B (EDU:B), at the University of Toronto Mississauga, as an EDU: A, as described in the Proposal for the Establishment of an EDU:A, Institute for Management & Innovation (IMI), University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), dated March 24, 2020, be approved, effective July 1, 2020. 

OPEN SESSION CONSENT AGENDA 

On a motion duly moved, seconded, and carried 

YOUR BOARD APPROVED THAT 

the consent agenda be adopted 

6. Report of the Previous Meeting: Report Number 226 – March 12, 2020 

Report Number 226, from the meeting of March 12, 2020 was approved. 

7. Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting 

There was no business arising from the report of the previous meeting.  

8. Items for Information

Members received the following reports for information:  

  1. Report Number 263 of the Agenda Committee – April 7, 2020 

  2. Report Number 202 of the Committee on Academic Policy and Programs – March 31, 2020 

  3. Report Number 192 of the Planning and Budget Committee – April 1, 2020 

9. Academic Plan: University of Toronto Scarborough (“UTSC”), Inspiring Inclusive Excellence: A Strategic Vision for the University of Toronto Scarborough 

The UTSC Academic Plan: Inspiring Inclusive Excellence: A Strategic Vision for the University of Toronto Scarborough was provided to members for information.  

END OF CONSENT AGENDA 

10. Date of the Next Meeting: Thursday, May 28, 2020, 4:10 – 6:10 p.m. 

The Chair reminded members that the next meeting, the last of the 2019-2020 governance year, would be held on May 28, 2020 at 4:10 p.m.  

11. Other Business 

There were no matters of other business. 

THE BOARD MOVED IN CAMERA.

12. Capital Project: Centre for Civilizations, Cultures and Cities – Total Project Cost Increase and Sources of Funding  

On motion duly moved, seconded and carried 

YOUR BOARD RECOMMENDED 

THAT the recommendation of Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, as outlined in the memorandum dated April 16, 2020, regarding the total project cost and sources of funding for the Centre for Civilizations, Cultures and Cities, be approved. 

THE BOARD RETURNED TO OPEN SESSION. 

The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.