Board notes

The Dalhousie Board of Governors met on Tuesday, November 27. Here are some of the highlights:

• President Tom Traves discussed ongoing political developments that may impact Dalhousie. These included negotiations with the Province of Nova Scotia on a new Memorandum of Understanding for post-secondary funding that are set to begin next month, and the forthcoming expiration of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation’s endowment.
• DSU President Mike Tipping reported on the union’s activities, highlighting external lobbying efforts supporting renewing the Millennium Scholarship Foundation on behalf of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. He also mentioned the creation of the Halifax Student Alliance and its presentation to the mayor’s roundtable on crime.
• The board approved the preliminary facilities renewal budget for 2008-09, based upon the approved budget for 2007-08 with an additional $1 million, as recommended by the Long Term Financial Planning Committee and subject to 2008-09 budget approval by the Board.
• Alan Shaver, Vice-President Academic, presented the board with a look at the university’s performance management strategy for hiring university professors and evaluating their progress. He emphasized the extensive oversight that goes into all stages of the process and how important it is that Dalhousie continue to attract and produce high-performance researchers and teachers. “It’s a competitive environment, and it’s going to get worse,” he emphasized. “We need to be creative.”
• Ken Burt, Vice-President Finance and Administration, shared an overview of the university’s strategic risk management report that is currently being produced. The assessment identifies various internal and external risks to the university, the level of likelihood and impact of each, and next steps in how the university can seek to mediate their impact.

SEE: Board of Governors