March 28, 2025
Senate met in person on March 28, 2025. Here are the highlights:
Senate Appoints 23 New Members
Senate approved the following new appointments, effective July 1, 2025:
Faculty:
- Computer Science: Ahmed El-Roby (acclaimed)
- Faculty of Engineering & Design: Mostafa El Sayed (elected), Cristina Ruiz Martin (elected), Niall Tate (elected), Winnie Ye (elected)
- Faculty of Public and Global Affairs: Jeni Armstrong (elected), Sean Burges (elected), Achim Hurrelmann (elected), Irena Knezevic (elected)
- Faculty of Science: Kevin Graham (acclaimed), Inna Bumagin (acclaimed)
- Sprott School of Business: Rebecca Renfroe (acclaimed)
Undergraduate Students (all acclaimed):
- Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences: Ashley Paiva, Emma Peirce, Kuma Nyediin Buoy
- Faculty of Public & Global Affairs: Isabella Alma, Stella Duncan, Nir Hagigi
- Faculty of Engineering & Design: Nathan Bruni, Xavier Haziza
- Sprott School of Business: Nolan Giroux-Laplante
- Faculty of Science: Gabrielle Lachance
Additionally, James Brunet has been appointed as faculty member representative on Senate from the School of Information Technology, effective immediately.
Senate Approves the Revised Senate Review Committee TOR
Senate has approved the revised Terms of Reference for the Senate Review Committee. This change follows the decision to disband the Senate Library Committee, requiring the Senate Review Committee to add the review of the annual Library Report to its responsibilities.
Senate Approves Revised Medals Policy
Senate has approved updates to the Senate Medals Policy to reflect changes due to the restructuring of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs and the suspension of the Fall Convocation. Other changes include:
- Addition of new Master’s Level Senate Medal: A new medal for research projects has been introduced to ensure fair competition, separating research essays/projects from theses.
- Revised Evaluation Criteria for Graduate Medals:
- GPA has been changed from a primary to a secondary evaluation criterion.
- The publication record has been expanded to include various research outputs such as publications, conference presentations, public engagement, and other relevant activities.
- For Master’s students who have written a thesis, a statement from the external examiner is now required in addition to the supervisor’s statement.
Senate Passes Motion Related to Program Closures
Senate passed a motion to ensure that motions related to program closures at the undergraduate or graduate level are presented as unique motions to Senate, and are not included in omnibus motions.
Senator Spotlight: Julia Wallace
Julia Wallace, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Affairs), collaborates with units within the Faculty of Science on developing new undergraduate programs and modifying major/minor undergraduate curricula. She also evaluates undergraduate academic integrity violations.
In addition to her primary responsibilities, Julia chairs the Science Faculty Board (SFB) and the Science Committee on Academic Planning (SCAP) meetings. She represents the Faculty of Science on the Senate Quality Assurance and Planning Committee (SQAPC), the Senate Committee on Curriculum, Admission, and Studies Policy (SCCASP), and the Undergraduate Affairs Committee. Julia also oversees academic integrity policy violation cases in undergraduate courses within the Faculty of Science, except for those in Computer Science. Learn more about Julia.