The University of Manitoba Senate met on November Nov. 2, 2011. Early in the meeting, Robert Macmillan, dean of the faculty of education at U of M, spoke in memory of Kenneth Slentz and his wife, Dorothy, who died in a car crash in Iowa on Sept. 22, 2011.
Slentz began teaching in the department of math and sciences in 1969 and became a full professor in the faculty of education in 1976. Slentz retired in 1990 and in recent years had moved to Iowa.
President David Barnard reported on his apology to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which took place on Oct. 27.
Barnard explained that the idea started in the faculty of social work and that it was eventually decided that the university as a whole should make a statement.
Barnard noted that the event had received a lot of media coverage, both understanding and not, but that the U of M community had stood by the apology.
The Senate approved a motion to eliminate a rule in the faculty of science that states a final examination must be worth 50 per cent or more of a student’s final grade and to amend the faculty’s academic assessment regulations to apply the “F-Count” rule to students in major and honors programs, as well as in the general program.
Senate approved a motion presented by Dauna Crooks, the dean of nursing, on behalf of the faculty of graduate studies, to approve and recommend that the Board of Governors approve the implementation of a PhD program in nursing.
Senate approved a motion presented by Digvir Jayas, vice-president-(research), to disband the Senate committee on animal care and the Senate committee on the ethics of research involving human subjects.
Jayas explained the change was to eliminate a redundancy in structure.
The non-policy responsibilities of these committees will be handled by two new committees, the committee on animal care and the human ethics resources committee, i n order to have a more integrated structure for the administration of research ethics.
With this change, the administration of research ethics is still in full compliance with the Canadian Council for Animal Care and Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS 2) Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.
