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BoG holds first meeting of the year

Last Thursday, McGill’s highest governing body, the Board of Governor’s (BoG), convened for its first session of the academic year.

The BoG is led by Principal Heather Munroe-Blum and Chancellor Arnold Steinberg and is composed of 25 voting members and two observers.

Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) President Josh Redel and Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Secretary-General Jonathan Mooney are included in the voting members as student body representatives.

Issues on the agenda for the open session included principal’s remarks and an overview of the BoG’s handbook for 2012.

In her opening remarks, Munroe-Blum described the Strategic Enrolment Management Plan, which has been in the works since 2007, as “one of the priorities of this year.”

McGill’s student body now includes 38,185 students, including both undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate and PhD research students make up 25 per cent of McGill’s student body, which Munroe-Blum said was a “real strength.”

Also discussed at the meeting was Munroe-Blum’s wish to continue to focus on “maintaining the quality of students” while attracting students to other areas of the University – such as Macdonald Campus – through the enrolment initiative.

She also addressed the ongoing disciplinary hearings from the events of last year, stating that the hearings are being “handled one by one by a disciplinary officer to ensure fairness and consistency.”

Later in the meeting, Dean Ellen Aitken of the Faculty of Religious Studies presented to the BoG, focusing in particular on McGill’s participation in the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Faith and Globalization Initiative. McGill‘s Faculty of Religious studies has been a part of the initiative for three years and was recently asked to become the lead university in the network.

The Faculty of Religious Studies is McGill’s smallest faculty, with 14 professors and one faculty lecturer.

“In order to be an educated leader in this world you have to be savvy about the world’s religions,” Dean Aitken told the Board.

The next BoG meeting will be held on Thursday, December 13.