Ship is on course, Board is told

by Laurie Zack

Chair Reginald Groome told the September 16 Board of Governors meeting that while a closed meeting of the Board on September 9 had provided an opportunity for a frank and open review of space planning proposals -- especially the report and recommendations developed over the summer -- there was no attempt to arrive at a decision, and a recommendation will be brought to Board by the senior administration in October.

Rector Frederick Lowy told the Board that although this is the fourth consecutive year of major budget cuts, enrolment is stable, extensive academic planning has been done, several innovative programs have been introduced, and the University is close to finalizing 12 collective agreements with employees.

Lowy said that significant savings were made by integrating the Secretary-General operations into those of the Vice-Rector Institutional Relations and consolidating the Rector's Cabinet. However, he recognized a growing fatigue among faculty and staff as they cope with budget and staff cutbacks.

Provost Jack Lightstone said that 35 to 40 per cent of the long-term academic planning recommendations have been acted upon, and the process continues. He mentioned the impact of information technology on learning, and how structural changes in the job market are driving the development of new certificate and diploma courses.

Lightstone also noted the shift in the ratio of part-time to full-time professors at Concordia. As full-time faculty retired through FALRIP, many part-timers were hired as replacements, reversing the desired 60/40 split between full-time and part-time. This is being redressed through the hiring of more than 50 tenure-track faculty members over the past two years.

The advisory search committee for a Provost and Vice-Rector Research has met twice and the position has been advertised. A short-list of candidates is expected before the end of the year.

Elected to the advisory search committee for the Dean of Fine Arts were Jack Lightstone (chair), Miriam Roland, Tannis Arbuckle-Maag, Barbara Layne, Eric Mongerson, Leland Peterson, Karl Raudsepp, Charles Emond, Chantal Saylor, Zav Levinson and an undergraduate Fine Arts student to be named later.

An ad hoc committee of the Board has been established to evaluate a CUPFA request that part-time faculty be represented on all Board advisory search committees.