Senate met on June 7, 2024. Here are the highlights:

Class of 2024 Spring Graduates Approved

Senate approved the spring graduation of 3,263 undergraduate and 641 graduate students, for a total of 3,904 students. With the 2024 winter graduates, the class of 2024 is already over 5,000 strong and will easily surpass 6,000 with the fall lists.

The spring Convocation celebrations will be held over 15 ceremonies in the Fieldhouse from June 17-21, 2024.

New School and New Institute

Senate approved proposals by the Faculty of Science to create the Institute for Data Science (IDS) and the School of Nursing. These units will house the new undergraduate programs in Data Science and Nursing, respectively.

New Program Approvals

Senate approved the following 5 new programs, to start in Fall 2025.

  • Bachelor of Data Science. Created by the School of Computer Science and the School of Mathematics and Statistics, the Bachelor of Data Science a four-year, 20-credit program focusing on data wrangling, inferential statistics, data analytics, AI, big data, and data ethics. It offers two optional concentrations, allowing students to broaden their degree applicability. The unit will explore a completely online version of the program in the future.
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The nursing program at Carleton University will be housed in a new School of Nursing, focusing on the relationship between nurses, patients, and the community. The program will use extended reality, simulation-based, and work-integrated training to foster bedside competence, critical thinking, and innovativeness. Nurses will be trained to respect and integrate patients’ beliefs and experiences, promoting equitable and sustainable health outcomes. The program is based on a partnership with Queensway Carleton Hospital.
  • BA General Studies. The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Public Affairs are launching a 15-credit online B.A. General Studies program, that builds on the critical mass of online courses that are regularly offered across the two faculties. This program is targeting non-traditional learners who are not well-served by traditional programs.
  • Mechatronics Engineering (BEng). Mechatronics is a multi-disciplinary engineering field that combines Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics, and Systems and Computer Engineering. The new undergraduate program aims to prepare graduates for designing, manufacturing, and end-use of mechatronic devices. By having three equal departmental partners, the program aims to synthesize materials from different disciplines, avoiding the common approach of defining the core of mechatronics and adding patches for other departments.
  • Bachelor of Cybersecurity. The School of Computer Science is launching a Bachelor of Cybersecurity (B.Cyber) program, aiming to attract high-achieving students interested in computer and network security careers. The program is designed to prepare students for government and industry roles, focusing on a specific job market segment. It will expose students to existing technologies but also provide a comprehensive understanding of current and future threats, risks, and protection measures.

Senate Rules of Order

Senate approved revised “Senate Rules of Order”.

Sections have been reorganized for clarity, and the classification and rules of motions have been edited to align with the AIP Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, which is the standard reference guide for Carleton’s Senate.

Quality Assurance & Cyclical Reviews

Senate approved the Final Assessment Report and Executive Summary arising from the Cyclical Review of the Undergraduate programs in Health Sciences.

Senator Spotlight: Julie Murray

Julie Murray (PhD York University, MA University of Toronto, BA Queen’s University) is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature. She was Graduate Supervisor in English from 2017-2020, and the recipient of a Faculty Graduate Mentoring Award in 2020. She specializes in eighteenth and nineteenth-century British literature and culture and also teaches courses in literary theory and criticism. Her current research is on Western feminism’s vexed relationship to global modernity, and she has recently completed a book manuscript on this topic, entitled Feminism, A Biography: Mary Wollstonecraft and the Problem of Modernity. In 2023 she was awarded a SSHRC Insight Development Grant for a new project, “A Literary History of Women-as-Index,” which uses methods of literary analysis to explore “women-as-index,” which is a metric that dominates the NGO and policy world of gender and development but has rarely been considered on its own terms or in its own right. Read more about Julie Murray.

Next Meeting: Date will be posted soon on the Senate website.