McGill’s Board of Governors (BoG) convened its first formal meeting of the academic year at 4 p.m. on Oct. 5. The in-person contingent of the meeting took place in room 301 of the James Administration Building, while others joined on Zoom. The open session of the meeting, which started just before 6 p.m., began with remarks from Principal Deep Saini, a report from the Senate, and finally reports from three committees of the Board.
Following a land acknowledgement, Saini affirmed his commitment to the university’s mission and values. The principal went on to address the University’s advocacy in the wake of new French-language rules that he believes negatively affect anglophone universities in the province.
“McGill tabled a submission to the National Assembly on the topic of Quebec immigration planning [and] appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Citizen Relations on September 20,” Saini said.
“We emphasized that such [language] distinctions could negatively affect the ability of anglophone institutions in Quebec to retain these students post-graduation, we also underscored that these changes of immigration policy might have unintended effects on the acquisition and retention of academic talent for all universities in Quebec, including the francophone ones.”
Saini recounted attending several campus events throughout the semester, proclaiming: “I will never forget [the] about 45 minutes I spent at the Open Air Pub.” In addition to visiting the Open Air Pub, the principal attended the Security Services Community Barbeque, Soup and Science, the launch of the Indigenous Awareness Weeks, and the second annual legacy lacrosse game.
The Principal also discussed the university’s ranking, reporting that while McGill has remained third in Canada, it has dropped in ranking internationally.
“We need to pay attention to that so that this doesn’t become a trend,” Saini said. “Although not everything at a university is about rankings. I often use the expression, ‘you live by rankings, you die by rankings.’ But I think they are an important indication of the health of the institution, in relative terms.”
Saini concluded his remarks by recognizing recent awards earned by the McGill community, emphasizing that Professor Cindy Blackstock won the World’s Children’s Prize this year.
The Board then proceeded to hear a brief report from the Senate, also presented by the Principal, followed by reports from the Audit and Risk Committee, the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee (NGE), and the Investment Committee.
Stephen Halperin, chair of the NGE Committee, presented the committee’s report, including a motion to approve a title change for McGill’s top administrators.
“On behalf of the NGE, I’m requesting a resolution to approve the amendment to the statutes to change the title of principal to president, vice-principal to vice-president, and associate or assistant vice-principal to associate or assistant vice-president, as the case may be,” Halperin said.
The motion passed and the university statutes will be amended.
Media Relations Officer Frédérique Mazerolle elaborated on the reasoning behing this change in a statement to The Tribune. She did not provide a timeline.
“The change of title […] serves to align McGill with the majority of research-intensive universities in the U.S. and Canada, and will leverage its position at the international level, particularly in Asia, where the titles of President and Vice-President are more recognized,” Mazerolle wrote by email.
During the report of the Investment Committee, committee chair Donald Lewtas spoke about a committee resort that had taken place the day prior.
“Yesterday, the committee also reviewed the SRI [Socially Responsible Investing] report and CAMSR’s [the Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility] recommended strategies and commitments,” Lewtas said. “The committee […] looked at each of the eight commitments and strategies and approved the adoption of those commitments and strategies [meaning] the committee believes the adoption of them will not impact the university’s ability to sustain a dependable source of endowment income.”
Moment of the meeting: Lewtas announced the Investment Committee’s approval of up to $25 million USD in Basalt Infrastructure Partners IV and up to $20 million USD in Crown Global Secondaries (CGS VI), along with the approval of the 2022-2023 McGill Endowment Fund Annual Report, which was submitted to the Board.
Soundbite: “I think it’s fair to say that there is a gap between what government representatives would say to you in one conversation, and what they can go ahead and do for public consumption, and sometimes say for public consumption.” — Saini on his advocacy with members of the National Assembly.
