Faculty Council Meeting - May 10, 2024: Deadline for Agenda Items: May 3 at 4:30 pm

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES COUNCIL
MINUTES
Friday, April 12, 2024

A meeting of the Faculty Council was held on Friday, April 12, 2024, at 10:00 am via Zoom.

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair of Faculty Council
M. Stevenson, Chair of the Nominations Committee to Consider Nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair of Faculty Council, stated two applicants had applied for the positions.  As per Article 6:  Election of Officers, unopposed candidates are considered elected without a vote being taken.  Therefore, Dr. Douglas Hayes, Department of English will be the Chair of Faculty Council, and Dr. Chris Sanders, Department of Sociology will be the Vice-Chair.

1.
Approval of Agenda
It was moved by and seconded by A. Guttman and I. Lemée that the agenda be approved.
        Carried.

2.
Approval of Minutes
Approval of the minutes from March 8, 2024.  
The minutes were accepted as presented.
        
3.
Business Arising from the Minutes
None.

 4.
Calendar Changes
i) Languages.
It was moved by I. Lemée and seconded by C. Sanders that the following calendar change request from
Languages be approved.
2024-SOC-8470:  New Course-UG-FRENCH 3010 – Le cinéma francophone.
    Carried.
 
    5.1
Department/School Requests.
There were no requests submitted at this time.  Moving forward, all requests submitted will be considered for our first Faculty Council meeting in September 2024.

5.2
Department/School Reports.
i)  English
A. Guttman thanked everyone for attending the Student Conference held on April 11, 2024.  

ii) Music
A. Carastathis stated that concerts were ongoing and would last all next week.  For more information,
please check the Department of Music’s home page or Facebook.
    
i)   Sociology
It was moved by C. Sanders and seconded by I. Lemée that the Renewal of Dr. Kevin Willison as
External Adjunct Professor in the Department of Sociology be approved.
        Carried.

iv)  Gender and Women’s Studies
L. Chambers stated that the Feminisms in the North Conference was well attended, and thanked J. Roth
for all her hard work.

6.
Dean’s Report.
April 12, 2024.
G. Bonifacio reported on the following:

2022 Employee Engagement Survey:  Action Items
There will be ongoing discussions with departments.

April 30, 2024:  Program Review Campus Retreat
There will be a one-page agenda for this event which will be distributed closer to the event.  

Quarterly Review of Strategic Plan
We should have a plan in place regarding the number of FCEs we will require to run our programs for the next two years and develop a quarterly review of accomplishments to date.  This could be in the form of a newsletter from the Dean’s Office.  This could include events both on and off campus which would help our faculty gain more recognition in the community.  This in turn could also help recruitment efforts.

Recruitment and Conversion Plans
Recruitment is ongoing in hopes of increasing our current enrollment numbers.  The Recruitment Office is there to help all of us so please reach out to them is you require assistance.

Ambassadors of Lakehead University:  Research and Community Outreach
It would be beneficial if our faculty was able to share our current research accomplishments with the community in various ways.

Bookstore Vouchers for Applicants Reception
Vouchers for $10.00 will be given to those students interested in applying to the departments/school in our faculty.  These will be given out at both Applicant Receptions in Orillia and Thunder Bay.

Niiji Project Expo:  Indigenous Student Preview Day
This event will be held on April 30, 2024

Updates:

Ph.D. Working Group
Committee Membership:  M. Haiven; I. Lemée; B. Maiangwa; T. Puddphatt; C. Sanders; K. Burnett
The committee has had its first initial meeting to develop a plan with regard to what this degree might look like.  It was mentioned that the development of a Ph.D. in our faculty was included in the SMA3 report.  A Ph.D. in the Social Justice Studies program has been mentioned with a focus on Global Studies.  There will be collaborative discussions held in the process in hopes of enhancing research culture as well as supporting others in their own.

Asian Studies Minor Consulting Group
Committee membership:  P. Das; S. Islam; I. Lemée; J. Liu; B. Dunn
This will be a major modification and will be hosted by the Department of Languages.  The material needed for Curriculum Navigator is currently being developed.

Northern Studies Minor:  Review of Courses
This program will appeal to all students around the world.  Discussions have been held with T. Randall, Dean of Science and Environmental Studies, and B. Leblon, Faculty of Natural Resource Management, in hopes to have a more integrated approach

7.
Other Business.
i)  Formation of a Special Committee to develop Terms of Reference for a Proposed Graduate Committee.
A. Carastathis started the discussion to first determine if this committee would be active for a short period and end when the specific project is done, or if it would be permanent.

G. Bonifacio stated that she could draft the terms of reference but would prefer to consult   the faculty.  This committee would act as an advisory body to the Dean when determining the Dean’s Award, and possibly new awards created for students in the future.  such as community service and advocacy. The idea is to have more than one person deciding on awards for students.
Ultimately, after some discussion, it was decided not to move forward with this committee.  If the need arose, a special committee could be created at that time.  The Dean can decide on awards related to financial need forwarded by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.  Graduate program coordinators are already involved in evaluating the OGS awards.

8.
Next Faculty Council Meeting:  
The next Faculty Council Meeting will be on May 10, 2024, at 10:00 am via Zoom.  
NOTE:  Dr. G. Siddall and Dr. D. Barnett will be attending the meeting in May.
(The meeting in May will be the last Faculty Council meeting for this academic year.)

9.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:32 am.  (A. Carastathis)

ATTENDANCE
Thunder Bay Campus

G. Bonifacio
K. Brooks
K. Burnett
A. Carastathis
L. Chambers
E. Chugunov
A. Guttman
D. Hayes
D. Ivison
I. Lemée
B. Maiangwa
R. Maundrell
J. Sanchez Martinez
C. Sanders
S. Shahsahabi
R. Warburton
S. Viitala - recording

Orillia Campus
P. Das
A. den Otter
V. Hébert
R. McVeigh
M. Stevenson

Regrets:
L. Forbes
L. Potvin