Report Number 314 Of The Agenda Committee
TUESDAY, APRIl 15, 2025
To the Academic Board,
University of Toronto,
Your Committee reports that it held a virtual meeting on April 15, 2025 with the following members present:
PRESENT: Douglas McDougall (Chair), Donald Ainslie (Vice-Chair), Trevor Young (Vice-President and Provost), Nicholas Rule (Vice-Provost, Academic Programs), Catherine Amara, Charles Jia, Mark Lautens
REGRETS: Sergio Tenenbaum, Edwin Thomas
SECRETARIAT: Miranda Edwards (Acting Secretary)
IN ATTENDANCE: Lachmi Singh (Director, Academic Programs, Planning & Quality Assurance), Alison Hoy (Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation)
The meeting was held in Closed Session
Pursuant to section 38 of By-Law Number 2,
consideration of item 8 took place in camera.
OPEN SESSION
- Chair’s Remarks
The Chair welcomed members to the Cycle 5 meeting. - Reviews of Academic Programs and Units
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Semi-Annual Report on the Reviews of Academic Programs and Units
Professor Catherine Amara, Chair of the Committee on Academic Policy and Programs, reported that twelve reviews were received and reviewed by the Committee at its meeting on April 10, 2025. There was one Provostial Review and eleven Decanal Reviews commissioned by Deans under the University of Toronto Quality Assurance Process (UTQAP), as listed below:
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Provostial Reviews:
Faculty of Arts and Science
Decanal UTQAP Reviews:
Temerty Faculty of Medicine:
- Institute of Medical Science
Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering:
- Division of Engineering Science
- Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering
University of Toronto, Scarborough:
- Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences, UTSC
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Health and Society
Faculty of Arts and Science:
- Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies
- The Department of East Asian Studies
- The Department of Political Science
- The Department of Art History
- Centre for Comparative Literature + Literature and Critical Theory programs (Victoria College)
- Department of History
Professor Amara informed the Committee that the Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs had examined the review reports to identify both new and recurring themes including the high calibre of student talent, the impressive scholarship of faculty members, the connections between units and their surrounding communities, and equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives. The reviews identified opportunities for academic units to further strengthen coordination, interdisciplinary connections, student supports, and EDI initiatives. Professor Amara noted that the reviews also highlighted the benefits of enhancing communications and clarity for faculty around promotion, processes and requirements, as well as the importance of continuing to ensure that diversity was reflected in faculty complement and curriculum.
Two follow-up reports were requested by the Committee. A follow-up was requested for the Graduate Diploma in Health Research (GDipHR) in the Institute of Medical Science, as this program was not previously given a fulsome review. A one-year follow-up was also requested for the Department of Art History from the Faculty of Arts & Science, as there were several complex matters to address.
- Review of the Academic Board Cycle 5 Agenda – April 24, 2025
The Committee confirmed the Academic Board agenda and meeting materials for the Cycle 5 meeting on April 24, 2025. - Report of the Previous Meeting
Report Number 313 of the Agenda Committee meeting of February 25, 2025 was approved. - Business Arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting
There was no business arising from the Report of the Previous Meeting. - Date of the Next Meeting
The Chair advised members that the Committee would next meet on May 20, 2025. - Other Business
There were no items of other business.
The Committee moved in camera.
IN CAMERA AGENDA
- Academic Administrative Appointments
On a motion duly moved, seconded and carried,
YOUR COMMITTEE APPROVED
The academic administrative appointments as listed in the memo provided by the Provost dated April 8, 2025.
The meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.
April 22, 2025