New departments in health sciences & social sciences

Approval was given for the development of a new Department of Oncology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, which will allow McMaster oncology group to gain a number of advantages at scholarly and clinical levels. The department will be divided into Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology. This is an amicable division from the Department of Medicine, intended to enhance research and scholarship opportunities within a larger department.

The Faculty of Social Sciences has also received approval for the establishment of a Department of Health, Aging and Society, which will initially offer undergraduate programs in the areas of gerontology and health studies. Future proposed developments include the creation of a third stream of undergraduate study in globalization health, as well as graduate programs at the Masters and Doctorate levels.

Humanities and engineering centres approved

The Board of Governors has given final approval for the opening of the Wilson Centre for Canadian History, Faculty of Humanities, with Wilson Professor H.V. Nelles serving as the centre's inaugural director. Thanks to a generous gift to the University from Dr. Lynton R. Wilson and to the support from the Dean of Humanities, the new Centre will promote the history of Canada within the University and the wider community. The director will be assisted by an advisory board on Canadian historical studies, drawn from a long list of scholars within the McMaster community. A strategic planning and operational review will be scheduled at the end of the centre's first five-year term in 2009/10.

A new multi-disciplinary initiative will bring together researchers from engineering, science and health science to identify and exploit cross and multi-disciplinary research opportunities not previously accessible. McMaster's new Centre for Research in Micro- and Nano- Systems, Faculty of Engineering or CRMNS, will focus on innovation of components and systems that will improve people's lives. The centre will be funded in part by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Research Fund, the University and funds from industry (cash and in-kind).

Research chairs created

The establishment of the David R. (Dan) Offord Chair in Child Studies has been approved. The purpose of the chair is to support research and education in child mental health disorders at McMaster University. This endowed chair will reside within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences and specifically at the Offord Centre for Child Studies.

Also approved was the development of the Beamish Family Chair in Peripheral Vascular Surgery, to support research and education in Vascular Surgery at McMaster. This chair will reside in the Department of Surgery.

New programs and changes to existing programs

A new Bachelor of Technology program, the joint initiative of McMaster's Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Engineering Technology at Mohawk College was approved by the board for September 2006. This program will build upon the existing McMaster-Mohawk Bachelor of Technology program and will include three four-year integrated programs and four two-year degree completion programs.

In response to student interest and research strengths, the decision has been made to change the name of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics to the Department of Linguistics and Languages. The new name reflects proposed changes to the educational focus of the department, underscoring established research strengths in the area of linguistics.

After a long review process, the Senate also decided to approve closure of the Combined Honours in German and Another Subject, the Combined Honours in Hispanic Studies and Another Subject, the Combined Honours in Italian and Another Subject, and the Honours Modern Language and Linguistics programs, effective August 31, 2007. Consistently low enrolment figures and the desire to focus on diversification of language instruction has led to the development of the new Linguistic Cognitive Science program, which is to be introduced next year (approved by Senate Jan. 11, 2006).

“We are communicating our affirmation of the development of Humanities to the next stage,” said President Peter George. “It is a positive move forward, in the evolution, of the Faculty.”

Provost Ken Norrie commented on the positive feedback he has often received in his travels from provosts of other Canadian universities about the innovative changes happening at McMaster in the various faculties, such as Humanities.

Further program closures include Language Linguistics & Translation and Language & Linguistics in the Department of French and the closure of the Core and Specialized Options of the Honours Computer Science degree and the Honours Computer Science and Mathematics program in the Department of Computing and Software.

Admissions requirements of the Bachelor of Science(Nursing) program have been changed to allow a new category of admission for applicants coming from high school. Applicants will no longer have the option of completing Physics U as a science requirement but will be required to complete both Biology u and Chemistry U for admission to the program. This change will be phased in over the next two academic years.

Deferred exam period change

2006-2007 sessional dates have been revised to accommodate deferred examinations, which will alleviate some of the pressures on students presently required to write deferred exams during the final examination period in April. Students deferring exams in term 1 will now be able to complete their deferred exams during the mid-term recess. Beginning next year, term 1 deferred exams will be written during reading week, which will is scheduled for February 19 – 22, 2007.

Presentations

Ms. Michelle Peek addressed the Board on behalf of the student led Anti-Coke initiative. Peek asked the Board, on behalf of the McMaster community to re-examine the University's exclusive contract with the corporation before it comes up for renewal. The contract is scheduled to conclude in 2008, but could be extended two years due to a condition that states if certain volume targets aren't met.

Dean Paul Bates gave a presentation to the Board in which he discussed the three focus areas of program development in the DeGroote School of Business: leadership, ethics and innovation. DeGroote's three priority areas are education, research and community. Bates noted in particular recent successes such as the development of three new doctorate study programs and the establishment of the DeGroote-TSX Research Centre in Capital Markets Studies.

The board welcomed incoming Environmental and Occupational Health Support Services (EOHSS) manager, Steve Fletcher. EOHSS provides professional and technical health, safety and insurance support services and leadership to the University community.