Report: Executive Committee - February 12, 2020

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

REPORT  NUMBER  510 OF THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE

To the Governing Council,
University of Toronto.

Your Committee reports that it held a meeting on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. in the second floor Boardroom, Simcoe Hall, with the following members present:

Claire Kennedy (Chair), N. Jane Pepino (Vice-Chair), Meric S. Gertler (President), Avrum I. Gotlieb, Sarosh Jamal, Ernest W.N. Lam, Mark Lautens, Mark H. Rowswell, W. Keith Thomas, Laurent-Philippe Veilleux, Bruce Winter*

*via teleconference

Regrets:
Apefa Adjivon, Catherine Bragg, Janet L. Ecker

Non-Voting Member:
Sheree Drummond (Secretary of the Governing Council)

Secretariat:
Anwar Kazimi (Secretary, Executive Committee)

In Attendance:
Cheryl Regehr (Vice-President and Provost and Member of the Governing Council), Scott Mabury (Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships), Preet Banerjee (Chair, UTSC Campus Council and Member of the Governing Council), Brian Lawson (Chair, Business Board and Member of the Governing Council), Mohan Matthen (Chair, UTM Campus Council and Member of the Governing Council), Andrew Szende (Chair, University Affairs Board and Member of the Governing Council), Nicholas Terpstra (Chair, Academic Board and Member of the Governing Council), Bryn MacPherson (Assistant Vice-President, Office of the President and Chief of Protocol), Nadina Jamison (Chief Strategy Officer, Office of the President), Christopher Lang (Director, Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances (for items 14(a) and 14(b)))


Pursuant to section 28 (e) and 38 of By-Law Number 2, consideration
of items 14-17 took place in camera.

The meeting was held in Closed Session.

1. Chair’s Remarks

The Chair welcomed the attendees to the meeting. She expressed her gratitude at being re-elected by acclamation to serve as Chair for the 2020-21 governance year; and congratulated Brian Lawson, who had been elected by acclamation, to serve as Vice-Chair for the 2020-21. In closing, the Chair thanked Ms N. Jane Pepino, who would be ending her term as Vice-Chair and as governor on June 30, 2020.

2. Report of the President

The Chair invited the President to make his report to the Executive Committee.

Crash of Flight PS752

The President began his report by addressing the tragic crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 near Tehran on January 8, 2020. The President noted that the crash had had an immense effect on the academic community across Canada. Many vigils and moving memorials had been held across the University of Toronto’s three campuses to mourn the loss of eight members of the University community, including six students. In one such well-attended memorial held in Convocation Hall on January 12, 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, the Hon. Chrystia Freeland, the Premier of Ontario, the Hon. Doug Ford, and the Mayor of Toronto, His Worship John Tory, had addressed mourners united in their grief over the tragedy.

The President said that the University had launched, the Iranian Student Memorial Scholarship Fund, to honour the memory of those who died in the crash. All donations to the fund would be matched by the University, with the first $250,000 matched at an effective rate of 3:1, and all funds beyond that threshold matched dollar-for-dollar. The President added that the Provincial government had announced a new fund to disperse $10,000 scholarships in memory of each of the 57 Canadian victims of flight PS752.

A member commented that he was proud of the University’s response to the crash of flight PS752. The Chair added that she too had attended a memorial at the University to mark the tragedy; and that the University’s comprehensive and sensible response had helped in creating a sense of community.

Federal Matters

The President reported that in the previous month, he had met with Federal government officials in Ottawa. The primary focus of the visit had been to make the case for investments in research and infrastructure in the run up to the Spring 2020 budget. Notwithstanding a climate of fiscal restraint, there had been a strong interest on the part of the government in seeking the help of universities in tackling some of Canada’s biggest challenges. These included climate change and energy transitions; as well as national unity among others.

Provincial Matters

The President noted that that the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) had made its pre-budget submission to the Provincial government. As part of its advocacy to the Provincial government, the COU had made a conscious effort to focus its messaging on financial sustainability. To this end, a delegation from COU had met with several senior officials of the Provincial government.

The President reported that on February 4, 2020, he had hosted the Hon. Jeff Yurek, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. In the discussion that followed, the Minister had received a briefing on the University’s Low Carbon Action Plan (LCAP), and the Landmark Geothermal project and similar projects on all three campuses. The Minister had also undertaken a tour of BioZone at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.

Addressing other matters, the President noted that an expert panel created by the Provincial government and led by Jim Balsillie, chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators and co-founder of BlackBerry, had released its report. After five months of consultation with industry and business leaders, as well as Regional Innovation Centres and campus-linked accelerators among others, the panel had proposed several recommendations to the Government of Ontario. The University had also contributed to the input that had helped to shape these recommendations.

The President added that the Provincial government had announced an investment of an additional $1 million for the Good2Talk program. The Good2Talk initiative was Ontario’s bilingual mental health support service that provided professional counselling, information and referrals. The services were available to post-secondary students on a 24/7/365 basis.

Municipal Matters

The President had met with Mayor Tory. They had discussed assistance with issues related to the University’s current development projects, and the improvement of transit connections to UTSC.

In January 2020, Mr. Andrew Thomson, Chief of Government Relations, and Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, had presented to the City of Toronto’s Economic and Community Development Committee. The well-received presentation had highlighted the University’s contributions to city building.

Other Matters

At the invitation of the President, Professor Regehr, Vice-President and Provost, advised the Committee that she had hosted the University Leaders’ Breakfast Forum alongside the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The breakfast forum, co-moderated by Professor Regehr and Phil Baty, chief knowledge officer at Times Higher Education, had introduced the "power of place" theme that would underpin the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit to be hosted by the University of Toronto in September 2020. 

In closing, the President noted that many of the speakers for the forthcoming Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in September had been announced – including Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton and Mr. Michael Ignatieff.

3. Presidential and Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health (December 2019) and Administrative Response

The President said that he had been impressed with the well-thought recommendations that were contained within the report of the Task Force. The administration had enthusiastically accepted the recommendations in its response. The President noted the recommendations made by the Task Force had provided opportunities for the University to create integrated care pathways with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), to build on experiential learning opportunities and its research strengths through the Connaught Fund. The President added that student mental health and wellness would be a priority in the 2020-21 Budget.

The Provost added that the administration was actively engaged in ongoing consultations with experts on youth and student mental health at the University and CAMH. The goal was to undertake a process redesign of mental health services at the University to align with a stepped up model of care that would best serve those in need with a range of services and supports. Among other initiatives, there would be a review of space and facilities through which student health services were provided across all three campuses. Academic units would continue to focus raising awareness on a culture of caring in addressing and supporting mental health across the University community.

4. Update on the Tri-Campus Review

The Chair referred members to information that was provided in the meeting package about the Tri-Campus Review noting that the working groups were all now close to completion and that a final report that synthesizes the recommendations of the groups would be presented for information to governance at a later date.

CONSENT AGENDA           

On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
THAT the consent agenda be adopted and that the items be approved.

5. Items for Confirmation by the Executive Committee

  1. New Graduate Program Proposal: Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), Dalla Lana School of Public Health 
    On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE CONFIRMED THE DECISION OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD
    THAT the proposed degree program, Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), as described in the proposal from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health dated November 28, 2019 be approved effective September 1, 2021. 
  2. New Graduate Program Proposal: Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES), Faculty of Arts & Science
    On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE CONFIRMED THE DECISION OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD
    THAT the proposed degree program, Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES), as described in the proposal from the Faculty of Arts and Science dated December 4, 2019 be approved effective September 1, 2021. 
  3. Program Closure: Conjoint Doctor of Theology, Toronto School of Theology
    On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE CONFIRMED THE DECISION OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD
    THAT the proposed closure of the conjoint Doctor of Theology (ThD), Toronto School of Theology dated August 29, 2019, to which admissions were administratively suspended in November 20, 2014, be approved with an anticipated program closure date of December 31, 2024. 
  4. Program Closure: Bachelor of Physical and Health Education, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education
    On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE CONFIRMED THE DECISION OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD
    THAT the proposed closure of the Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (BPHE), Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education dated October 31, 2019, to which admissions were administratively suspended in March 2015, be approved with an anticipated program closure date of August 31, 2025. 
  5. Constitutional Amendments: Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
    On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE CONFIRMED THE DECISION OF THE ACADEMIC BOARD
    THAT the proposed amended Constitution of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Council, which was recommended for approval by the Council on October 31, 2019 be approved, effective July 1, 2020.

6. Report of the Previous Meetings of the Executive Committee

Report number 508 (December 4, 2019) 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. Revised Governing Council and Executive Committee Meeting Dates, 2020-2021

The revised Governing Council and Executive Committee Meeting Dates, 2020-2021, was approved.

9. Minutes of the Governing Council Meeting – December 12, 2019

Members received the Report of the December 12, 2019 Governing Council meeting for information.

10. Business Arising from the Minutes of the Governing Council Meeting

There was no business arising from the minutes.

11. Reports for Information

Members received the following reports for information:

  1. Report Number 215 of the University Affairs Board (January 27, 2020)
  2. Report Number 39 of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Council (January 28, 2020)
  3. Report Number 39 of the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus Council (January 29, 2020)
  4. Report Number 225 of the Academic Board (January 30, 2020)
  5. Report Number 250 of the Business Board (February 3, 2020)

END OF CONSENT AGENDA

12. Date of next meetings: 

The Chair advised members that a Special Meeting of the Committee would be held on Thursday, February 27, 2020 from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. and that the next regular meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2020 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

13. Other Business

  1. Governing Council Meeting – February 27, 2020

The Chair advised members that no speaking requests had been received.

The Committee Moved In Camera.

14. Items for Approval

  1. Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters:  Recommendations for Expulsion
    The Committee approved the President’s recommendations for expulsion, as outlined in the memorandum and supporting documentation from the Secretary of the Governing Council, dated February 5, 2020 be confirmed.​​​​​​​
  2. Establishment of a Judicial Board
    The Committee approved a recommendation regarding the establishment of a Judicial Board, as outlined in the memorandum and supporting documentation from the Secretary of the Governing Council, dated February 5, 2020.
  3. Senior Appointments
    On motion duly moved, seconded, and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
    THAT Professor Susan McCahan be reappointed as Vice-Provost, Academic Programs from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025, and as Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025.; and
    THAT Professor Sandy Welsh be reappointed as Vice-Provost, Students from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2025.

15. Items for Endorsement and Forwarding to the Governing Council

  1. Capital Project: Fitzgerald Revitalization located at 150 College Street –  Revised Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding
    On motion duly moved, seconded and carried
    YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
    THAT the following recommendation be endorsed and forwarded to the Governing Council:
    THAT the recommendation by Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, in the memorandum dated February 5, regarding the FitzGerald Building Revitalization capital project, be approved.
  2. Capital Project: UTM Science Building – Revised Total Project Cost and Sources of Funding
    The Committee approved a recommendation by Professor Scott Mabury, Vice-President, Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, in the memorandum dated February 5, regarding the FitzGerald Building Revitalization capital project be endorsed and forwarded to the Governing Council
  3. Tri-Campus Follow-up Governance Review – Terms of Reference and Membership of the Committee to Review the UTM and UTSC Campus Council (“CRCC”)+
    The Committee approved a recommendation on the proposed Terms of Reference and the proposed membership for the Committee to Review the UTM and UTSC Campus Councils (2020) be endorsed and forwarded to the Governing Council.

16. Committee Members with the President

17. Committee Members Alone

The Committee returned to closed session

The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.