Faculty of Environmental Sciences to Transfer to OAC
At its Nov. 1 meeting, Senate approved a motion from the Senate Committee on University Planning to transfer the Faculty of Environmental Sciences (FES) to the Ontario Agricultural College.
The move is intended to improve governance of FES and enhance teaching, research and outreach in environmental sciences at U of G, OAC dean Craig Pearson told Senate. It is also designed to improve multi-college input into the faculty's management, he said.
FES was established in 1991. This spring, concerns about the profile of environmental sciences at U of G, particularly in the areas of graduate programs, outreach and research, prompted Prof. Maureen Mancuso, provost and vice-president (academic), to call for a review of the faculty's organizational structure.
After a consultative review of FES's administrative and managerial structure, Prof. Ken Grant, Economics, suggested the faculty be placed within U of G's decanal structure while maintaining its interdisciplinary nature and the participation of various colleges.
VPAC then recommended that FES be placed in OAC. About two-thirds of B.Sc.(Env.) students graduate in majors offered by the college, and OAC has identified environmental sciences as one of its own core strategic interests. The FES undergraduate program makes up about one in four majors offered by OAC.
Pearson, who was asked to develop an implementation plan to relocate FES within OAC, told senators that FES would move into OAC in early 2006. It will continue to be run by an associate dean (part time), who will report to the dean.
A restructured Environmental Sciences Council — to be chaired by the dean and including the associate dean of FES, a representative of each of Guelph's six colleges, and graduate and undergraduate student representatives — will provide strategic direction and ensure accountability and communication.
Pearson's recommended goals for FES over the next three years include encouraging interdisciplinary research across campus and with nearby universities, pursuing professional master's programs and a PhD program, and increasing undergraduate enrolment and balance.
The new reporting structure will be reviewed at the end of three years.
After approving the relocation of FES, senators showed their appreciation of Grant's review with a round of applause.
In other business, Senate approved a motion for the board to realign the Biosafety Committee to mirror the structure and reporting lines of the Radiation Safety Committee. The Biosafety Committee will now be the responsibility of Environmental Health and Safety.
