A meeting of the Senate of Acadia University
occurred
on Monday, 11 April 2005, beginning at
4:10 p.m. with Chair Ian Wilks presiding and 38
members present.
1) Minutes
of the Meeting of |
It was moved by R. Perrins and seconded by S. Bondrup-Nielsen that the Minutes of I. Wilks asked that the following replace the existing statement in the "re Non-Voting Status of Senators" section of the Chair’s announcements: "I. Wilks noted that when the By-Laws Committee brings forward a motion to change the name 'Provost' to 'Vice-President Student Affairs', senators may also wish to consider changing the voting status associated with that position. If so, the issue may be addressed in an amendment to the By-Laws motion". It was agreed to remove the second sentence of the last paragraph on p. 3 of these Minutes; it was also agreed to change the seventh point of the discussion on graduation ceremonies to "the spiritual aspect of a convocation is a right of passage, not just a ceremony." Other minor grammatical corrections were made to the Minutes. MOTION WAS CARRIED AS AMENDED. |
2) Announcements
and Communications a) From the Chair -re Regrets -re Agenda |
Regrets were received
from G. Bissix, R.
Cunningham, S. Enman, H. Hemming, G. Iwama, A. Irving, J. Kirk, L.
McDonald,
and J. Sumarah. The Chair acknowledged
the presence of
the following guests at this meeting: R. Keeling, G. Prycz, S. Donovan,
and P. Eirikson
(in-coming student VPA); he also welcomed Acting Dean of Research &
Graduate Studies, W. Bedingfield; and he expressed appreciation to
outgoing
student representatives (R. Conrod, A. Nolan, M. Murphy, A. Buote, P.
LeGay,
and E. Nahm) for their service to Senate during this academic year. The Chair noted that
handouts were available
for today's meeting. Additions to the
agenda: under item 4)
New Business - a) Report from the TIE Committee; b) Motion on
membership of REB
from R&GS Committee; c) Notice of Motion from the Nominating
Committee. It
was agreed to add these items to the agenda. |
b) From the President | G.
Dinter-Gottlieb thanked everyone who took part in the Strategic
Planning
exercise today. |
c) From the
Vice-President (Academic) -re Dean Research and Graduate Studies |
He
expressed his appreciation for faculty's participation in today's
Strategic Planning exercise. He
said that an advertisement has been prepared for the position of
Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, and he invited Senators to bring
forth
names of suitable candidates. A search
committee will be formed in accordance with Board guidelines. A
desirable start
date for the new Dean would be |
d)
Special Meeting of the Senate |
|
3) Business
Arising from the Minutes a) Ad hoc Committee on the Graduation Ceremony Report - Continued from Previous Meeting (045-40-CON) |
The
Chair reminded Senators that this item is continued from the
previous meeting; most of the Report’s other recommendations were dealt
with at
that time. Recommendations #9, #17, and
##18-23 remain for consideration. It
was moved by A. Franceschet and seconded by D. Brodeur that
Senate accept Recommendations ##18-23 of the ad hoc Committee's Report
on the
graduation ceremony as attached to the March Minutes. #18
(amended) A
friendly amendment was made to #18, so that it now reads, "A
musical performance by students should close the ceremony (preferably
the Alma
Mater) in place of God Save the Queen". It
was moved by H. Hopkins and seconded by P. LeGay that #18 be
amended to read, "A musical performance by students should close the
ceremony (preferably the Alma Mater) after the singing of God Save the
Queen". MOTION
TO AMEND WAS DEFEATED. #19
(minor amendment accepted) A
friendly amendment was made to #19, so that it now reads: "Alumni
pins should be presented in a separate ceremony, preferably at the
Family
Graduate Breakfast". #20
(no amendment) An area should be created to accommodate
photographers. #21
(no amendment) The words to O Canada should be printed in the program
in both
official languages. #22
(minor amendment accepted) A
friendly amendment was made to #22, so that it now reads, "The
graduation reception should be held at the K.C. Irving Environmental
Science
Centre and #23
(minor amendment accepted) A
friendly amendment was made to #23 to read "Commercial
activities should not be included in the graduation reception area."
The intent was to eliminate traffic congestion coming and
going to the
reception. The President noted that the
sale of matts and frames was desired by many parents of graduates and
so the
practice should continue. MOTION
ON ##18-23 AS AMENDED WAS CARRIED. Senate
now dealt with recommendations #9 and #17. It
was moved by A. Franceschet and seconded by D. Brodeur that
Senate accept recommendations #9 and #17 of the ad hoc committee's
Report on
the Graduation Ceremony as attached to the March Minutes. Discussion
ensued, with following views expressed: •
There is already a place, such as the chapel, for prayer.
There is also the Baccalaureate Service.
But not all those who attend convocation wish
to pray. •
Opening prayer and benediction are traditional components of the
Graduation Ceremony. •
Prayer is an exercise some can identify with and others cannot. A
friendly amendment was made to recommendation #9 so that it would read:
"An Invocation will be
delivered by an officer of the Graduating Class". It
was moved by P. Corkum and seconded by S. Markham-Starr that
recommendations #9 and #17 be voted on separately. MOTION
TO DIVIDE CARRIED. #9
(amended) Discussion
ensued, with the following views expressed: •
Some argued that although it was desirable to have a student
representative take part in the ceremony, this should not be at the
cost of
discontinuing the University Chaplain’s participation.
•
The religious aspect at •
A poll of the University Community should be taken on such a major
change as removing religious content. It
was moved by D. Kruisselbrink and seconded by A. Mitchell that
the current wording of #9 be amended to the following:
9A - A Prayer of Invocation will be delivered
by the University
Chaplain. 9B - A brief Address will be delivered by an
Officer of the Graduating
Class. MOTION
TO AMEND WAS CARRIED. MOTION
ON #9 WAS CARRIED. #17
(amended) It
was moved by P. LeGay and seconded by D. Duke that the
recommendation be amended to read "The Benediction should continue to
be
inclusive and free of religious affiliation". D.
Duke argued that the committee's recommendation was misleading, as
the Benediction has always been inclusive. MOTION
TO AMEND #17 WAS CARRIED. Although
consideration was given to changing "benediction" to
"ceremony" in this recommendation, R. Wilson reminded Senators that
the wording would not work for the graduation ceremony of the It
was noted that the intent of this recommendation was to remove
religious prayer, not religious content, from the ceremony. It
was moved by G. Dinter-Gottlieb and seconded by A. Mitchell that
Recommendation #17 be amended to read "The Prayer of Invocation and the
Benediction should continue to be inclusive and free of religious
affiliation". MOTION
TO AMEND #17 WAS CARRIED. It
was moved by A. Quema and seconded by S. Markham-Starr that
Recommendation #17 be amended to read "The Prayer of Invocation and the
Benediction should continue to be inclusive and inter-faith". MOTION
TO AMEND #17 WAS DEFEATED. |
4) New Business a) Nominating Committee Notice of Motion (045-41-NOM) |
The
Nominating Committee
gave notice of motion for the following nominating report: a)
Chair of Senate
(1 year term 2005-2006): Ian Wilks |
I.
Wilks noted that the remainder of the agenda items would be dealt
with at the May meeting of Senate. |
|
6) Adjournment |
P.
Cabilio moved that the meeting be adjourned. It
was |
_________________________________ D. Murphy, Recording Secretary |
|