Faculty of Engineering Executive Committee Meeting 2011 · Faculty of Engineering Executive...

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Faculty of Engineering Executive Committee

Meeting 2011.06

Minutes of the Meeting held

12:30 p.m. June 28, 2011, in room CBY A-707

PRESENT: C. Laguë (Dean), H. Tezel (Vice-Dean, Research) C. D’Amours (Vice-Dean, Undergraduate Studies), T. Lethbridge (Secretary), S. Vanapalli (Chair, CVG), B. Jodoin (Chair, MCG), D. Taylor (Incoming Chair, CHG), C. Adams, (Interim Director, EECS), H. Viktor (Incoming EECS-CSI), S. Gandolfini (Chief Administrative Officer), EXCUSED: I. Nistor (Vice-Dean, Graduate Studies), J. Zhang (Vice-Dean, International Affairs), S. Boyd (Outgoing EECS-CSI), M. Dubé (Outgoing Chair, CHG), E. Petriu (Director, EECS), L. Roy (Assistant to the Dean), K. Bournes (Alumni Relations Officer)

11.06.01 A lunch was held before the meeting to welcome new members and to say

thank you to departing members of the Committee. 11.06.02 Approval of the Agenda

The agenda was approved. 11.06.03 Minutes of the last meeting (May 30)

The minutes of the previous meeting had been approved by email.

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11.06.04 Business arising

S Gandolfini will follow up on the concerns expressed that certain foreign students have to buy insurance when they already have it. Some items are in the Dean’s report (attached).

11.06.05 Report of the Dean 5.1 The Dean’s report is attached. Undergraduate education day: The event is going ahead for 7th September. There will be four workshops. Departments are asked to find professors (at least 2 per department and 4 for EECS for each workshop) who will commit to attend to the different workshops. Regarding the meeting of the Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering. A key idea is to have student projects targeted at accessibility. 25th Anniversary. The cake cutting ceremony will be next Monday. The 25th anniversary banner was installed yesterday. A document on the history of Engineering and Computer Science at the University has been prepared by Dr. Hallett. 5.2 2011 – 2012 update to the Faculty’s Academic Activity Indicators The document describing the activity indicators is attached. There was discussion of various attributes: The weighting of service courses, and the fact that EECS lost a course to Telfer. EECS is continuing to trend down 5.3 Information items The Dean would like examples of potential teaching lab needs that could be inspiring to donors. Graduate student space: The Faculty Space Committee met at the beginning of June. CBY C09 is currently set aside for graduate students enrolled in course-based programs, but it is a fairly large room that is not heavily used. This could probably fit at least 20 thesis students. Spaces will be allocated on an as-needed basis. The new space on the 5th floor on CBY that was renovated for graduate students has not yet been fully occupied. The chairs will follow up regarding this. The space committee is also looking at SITE 1030, a large room next to the cafeteria, with 136 cubicles. The large part with 72 cubicles would still be reserved. The other side, with 64 seats would be set aside for graduate students. Determination of costs and preparation of a proposal would be required before this could go ahead. There would be new furniture. There was discussion of whether the larger part of this room should be allocated to grad students, instead of the smaller part, since the space has

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been very much underutilized by undergraduates. There was also discussion of whether recently-added signs saying ‘engineering students only’ are appropriate.

11.06.06 2011 – 2016 Action Plan of the Faculty of Engineering

A spreadsheet in which executive members had rated the items from the Faculty Retreat was discussed. Executive members rated items based on overall preference, on cost and on effectiveness. Items were selected primarily if they were ranked high in preference and cost-effectiveness. A few items were combined, and one was generated during discussion. The following items were selected for action:

1. Continue efforts to correct the university funding formula. The Dean is on a

task force working on this. (Action 2.E) 2. Improve support staff efficiency: Review structures and procedures with a view

to standardizing operations in the faculty, and review support staff allocation with a view to reducing turnover and duplication of work, and increasing efficiency during peak periods (Actions 3.1 and 3.2 combined)

3. Provide more feedback on teaching: Implement TA evaluation as well as awards

for excellent TAs, and establish award for excellent teaching by part-time professors (Action 1.9).

4. Improve the presentation of Faculty programs in high schools. (Actions 5.3

and 5.4 combined) Give more presentations to high school students that are interesting and at the appropriate level, and arrange for students who are alumni of particular high schools to help recruit new students from their former school.

5. Host more national and international conferences (Action 4.C1). It was

suggested that this would enhance the reputation of the faculty. It was also pointed out that this item takes considerable time, which must be considered a cost, but that many faculty members are doing it anyway at other locations.

6. Encourage industrial sabbaticals (Action 4.B4). The idea would be to let

professors know what the rules are regarding taking salary from companies while on sabbatical (including consulting fees), directing more than the allowed amount of salary to research funds, etc. However, the main goal of this action is to foster increased relationships and collaborations with industrial partners.

7. Hold semi-formal talks on various topics. These could include topics such as

item 6 above, and could be in a format such as the lunch and learn sessions that were held some years ago. The Vice-Dean Research will organize this.

8. Modernize lab equipment and the way labs are taught (Action 1.7).

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9. Free up faculty research time by hiring teaching masters (Action 2.A7). It

was suggested that such teaching masters should be tenure-track and with some mechanism available for motivated professors to transfer to or from the regular teaching-plus-research track. It was also suggested that teaching masters could be evaluated not just on their teaching but on such things as published educational materials, textbooks, etc. Since this is a collective agreement issue, the matter will have to be resolved in negotiations.

10. Remove some of the duplication of semester 3B courses (Action 1.13).

Semester 3B is taught in the Winter for non-coop students, and in the summer for coop students. This item suggests that, on a program-by-program basis, consideration should be given to saving money by only teaching 3B Faculty of Engineering courses in the summer semester. Non-coop students would still be able to graduate on time, they would just have to take their last three semesters in a row. They could also take complementary studies or math courses in the winter semester when they would have taken 4B courses, if they wish, or else work in that time period, when competition for jobs would be lower anyway.

11. Place online a video webinar by each professor (Action 4.A4) . The objective is

to increase visibility and attract students. It was suggested that this can be done relatively cheaply now using widely available video-editing software. It was also pointed out that professional assistance is available from the university.

12. Hold workshops, seminars with external partners and have them as part-

time teachers (Action 4.B1) 13. Arrange for joint research applications. (Action 2.A2) Professors working

together can often accomplish more. It was pointed out that more and more professors are doing this.

14. Identify high-failure-rate courses and take early corrective action (Action

2.C5). 15. Liberate the Faculty Development Fund (Action 2.D). The Faculty

Development Fund originates from research ‘overhead’ charges that are passed on to the Faculty. They have been used for teaching labs. This item has the objective of finding donations or other sources of funds for the teaching lab support, so the Faculty Development Fund can be used for research.

16. Form Industrial Advisory Boards (IAB) in each Department and in EECS

(Actions 4.A1, 4.B3 and 1.11 combined) It was suggested that each have about 4 members, and be given a clear mandate and agenda. It was also suggested that the IAB’s be tasked with such things as suggesting improvements to curriculum, helping students find employment, and improving industrial contacts for research. It was suggested that membership could come from co-op employers and alumni who are in entrepreneurial, consulting or executive positions.

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The updated Faculty Action plan from the Dean is attached. 11.06.07 Report of the Vice Dean (Research)

CFI Leaders Opportunity Fund (LOF): • The results of the 2 applications from the Faculty that was put in the February competition are not official, yet. • 2 more full applications have been submitted for Drs. Fall and Kirkwood. • University of Ottawa has not decided yet whether there will be a Fall competition or not. That will need to be decided sometime in July. • Professors are asked to put fume hood requests in CFI competitions. CFI Infrastructure Operating Fund Drs. Jodoin, Hinzer and Shirmohammadi received this. NSERC • Notices of Intent are due on August 1, 2011. • Dr. Berini received a Discovery Accelerator Supplement this year • Dr. Matwin and Margaret are setting up workshops for applicants • Women in Engineering and Science Chair results are not official, yet. • Engage grants are submitted on an on-going basis. • CRD grants are submitted on an on-going basis. There was discussion about Discovery grants and RTI (for which grant results were close to zero). There were surprises and some very disappointed professors. This has implications for tenure and promotion. The fact that people can be cut off completely is of great concern; it was suggested that NSERC should at least renew for one year to allow people to rectify their proposals. Awards submitted: Dr. El-Saddik was nominated for the Steacie Fellowship. Dr. Mouftah was nominated for the Killam Prize. Ontario Early Researcher Awards (ERA): Dr. Catelas received it recently. Applications are due on August 5, 2011. Margaret and the Vice-Dean are looking for people to put forward for this award. Other: Dr. Hinzer’s Canada Research Chair renewal is due, soon. Margaret McKenna is working with her on this. There was discussion of the numbering of IOF research accounts.

11.06.08 Report of the Vice Dean (Graduate Studies)

The Vice Dean was away.

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The Dean reported that we already have many more requests for admission compared to last year. The number of new PhD students will also be up. We will probably have close to 800 graduate students.

11.06.09 Reports of the Vice-Dean (Undergraduate Studies)

A fraud case was discussed. It was moved and seconded that the executive committee approves the sanction imposed by the Committee of Inquiry. The Vice-Dean discussed what to do with students who have very low averages. It may be against university regulations to ask students to withdraw unless they have been put on probation first. It was suggested that for students whose CGPA is below 3.5, they should be asked to repeat first year Faculty of Engineering courses for which their grade is below C+, but that they not be able to take second-year courses from the faculty. This would improve retention as such students would not be immediately forced to withdraw. It was decided that this would be taken to the curriculum committee in July. The Vice Dean received a communication from Isabelle Leduc the new Liaison and Communications Coordinator. She has asked for some help because there are numerous special things this year such as the faculty anniversary. There was discussion of reporting relationships in the context of the new Director of Marketing and Communications. Regarding enrollment, the Faculty has closed enrollment in MGB. It was decided to close admission to the English programs in CVG and MCG.

11.06.10 Report of the Vice-Dean (International Affairs)

The Vice-Dean was away. Prior to the meeting, the Vice-Dean had circulated information regarding students accepted from China. The Dean discussed this briefly. We have 50 students from Chinese students; some are first year students; most of them will be special students in 4th year, then move on to do their M.Eng.

11.06.11 Reports from the Chairs/Directors

There was none.

11.06.12 Reports from the Chief Administrative Officer

There is a new Ontario law that will affect us, Bill 122, the broader Public Sector Accountability Act. Some matters in it are of little concern, such as not being able to hire lobbyists, and if you hire a consultant who helps you with strategic matters then this has to be approved by the president

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However, other items will affect us: The concept of ‘per diems’ for travel will no longer apply. Receipts will be required. There will be more definition of responsibilities in the purchasing cycle (e.g. purchase orders will be needed for all purchases above the petty-cash limit).

11.06.13 Reports from the Assistant to the Dean (Human Resources)

The Assistant to the Dean was away, but it was mentioned that some annual reports have not yet been received. The Dean will provide a consolidated report on the question related to pedagogical changes/improvements implemented in 2010 – 2011 that was added to the annual report form this year.

11.06.14 Other business

There was none.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m.

Timothy Lethbridge

Secretary, Faculty of Engineering

161 Louis-Pasteur Bureau | Room A306 Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, CANADA

Tél. | Ph. (613) 562-5800, poste | ext. 6175

Téléc. | Fax (613) 562-5174 Courriel | E-mail: [email protected]

Faculté de génie | Faculty of Engineering

NOTE DE SERVICE | MEMORANDUM DESTINATAIRE | TO: Faculty Executive Committee EXPÉDITEUR | FROM: Claude Laguë Doyen | Dean, Faculté de génie | Faculty of Engineering

DATE: 28-06-2011 SUJET | SUBJECT: Meeting of the Faculty Executive Committee (June 28, 2011)

Report of the Dean 3. Business arising (re. Minutes of the May 30, 2011 meeting) 11.05.07 Report of the Dean

Point 7.1 Written report - June 15, 2011 visit by President Allan Rock: President Rock was informed of the two issues

raised at the May 30, 2011 meeting of the Faculty Executive Committee and he did either address or respond to them during his meeting with the Faculty Assembly.

Point 7.2 Follow-up to the May 11, 2011 planning retreat - Members of the Faculty Executive Committee were asked to complete an individual and

preliminary prioritization of the various actions and outcomes identified for each of the five areas of focus.

- Final prioritization to be completed at the June 28, 2011 meeting of the Faculty Executive Committee (agenda item 6).

Point 7.4 Information items: - 2011 2012 update to the academic activity indicators: Distributed to members of the

Faculty Executive Committee on June 8, 2011 and to be discussed at the June 28, 2011 meeting (agenda item 5.2).

- Spring 2011 Convocation Ceremony: All the faculty members who were present at the ceremony (about 30 in total) will receive a thank you note from the Dean.

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5.1 Reports of the Dean Written report

5.1.1 Undergraduate Education Day

responsibility will be cancelled to facilitate attendance and participation by faculty members and students. Members of the Faculty Executive Committee are invited to inform/remind professors, support staff, and students. Department heads and SEECS Director have been asked to identify at least two (2) (departments) and four (4) (SEECS) faculty members to participate in each of the four workshops in order to ensure appropriate participation.

Four workshops: - Workshop 1 (08:30 10:00, CBY A04): Learning models location, timing, delivery (Dr.

M.A. Dubé) - Workshop 2 (10:00 11:30), CBY A04): Perspectives of faculty members and of students on

learning (Dr. B. Jodoin) - Workshop 3 (13:00 14:30, CBY A04): Outcome-based evaluation of learning (Dr. C.

- Workshop 4 (14:30 16:00, room TBD): Prioritization of ideas and next steps (Dr. C. Laguë)

Plenary session and lunch (11:30 13:00, CBY A04): Speaker from the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (to be confirmed).

5.1.2 Meeting of the Council of Ontario Deans of Engineering CODE (June 13, 2011)

Upcoming proposal by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) for an Ontario-wide design competition for engineering students for projects related to accessibility issues faced by people with disabilities.

CODE priorities to be submitted to COU: - Capital funding for engineering educational and research facilities. - Increase of the provincial unit funding for engineering students. - Increased presence and exposure of engineering in high schools.

Final Year Engineering Student Survey (conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)): - Primary objective: To understand the reasons why graduates of CEAB-accredited

engineering programs at Ontario universities do or do not intend to apply for their engineering license in Ontario.

- Participation: 995 responses by 4th-year students at 14 different Ontario engineering schools. - Highlights:

91% are likely to pursue a career in engineering: 54% (definitively), 37% (probably). 70% of respondents intend to enter the workforce after graduation; 23% intend to pursue

more education. Among the 23% who intend to pursue more education, 75% would like a graduate degree

in engineering. 94% of respondents who had the goal of an engineering career in mind when they started

their studies continue to say that they are likely to do so AND 64% of those who started their degrees unlikely to pursue an engineering career have changed their minds and now sal that thery are likely to do so as well.

77% are likely to pursue their P.Eng. license: 46% (definitively), 31% (probably). CODE Executive for 2011 2013: - Chair: Dr. Claude Laguë, P.Eng., ing. (University of Ottawa) - Vice-chair: Dr. Andy Hrymak, P.Eng. (University of Western Ontario)

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5.1.3 25th Anniversary of the Faculty of Engineering Recent and upcoming activities: - June 21, 2011: Group photographs of faculty and staff members. - July 4, 2011: Anniversary cake reception. - September 24, 2011: 25th Anniversary Homecoming Reception.

History of engineering and computer science at the University of Ottawa to be available in the fall and special website to go live in the coming weeks.

Faculté de génie 2011 2012 Faculty of Engineering Academic Activity Indicators


Ind Academic Activity Indicators

Année Year : 2011 2012 1. Inscriptions étudiantes dans les programmes aux trois cycles Student Enrolment in Undergraduate and Graduate Programs

Department or School Student Enrolment (FTE)

06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 5-yr average % of total

Chemical and Biological Engineering 397 423 383 447 416 413 12.56 Civil Engineering 498 529 561 598 705 547 16.62 Mechanical Engineering 740 715 654 731 828 710 21.58 School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 1,942 1,625 1,427 1,486 1,550 1,620 49.24 Other 1 1 1 5 1 Faculty Total 3,578 3,293 3,026 3,267 3,501 3,290 100.00

Notes:

Student enrolments in the graduate programs in environmental engineering have all been included in the data for the Department of Civil Engineering.

Student enrolments in the graduate program in biomedical engineering have all been included for in the data for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Student enrolments in the graduate programs in engineering management have been divided equally between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Information Technology and Engineering.



2. Inscriptions étudiantes dans les cours aux trois cycles Student Enrolment in Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

Department or School Student Enrolment (FTE)


Chemical and Biological Engineering 303 305 276 306 284 295 10.87 Civil Engineering 362 385 395 422 506 414 15.26 Mechanical Engineering 490 471 421 455 565 481 17.72 School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 1,712 1,444 1272 1,294 1,238 1,392 51.35 Subtotal 2,867 2,605 2,363 2,477 2,593 2,582 Other (general engineering) 119 117 125 146 141 130 Faculty Total 2,986 2,722 2,488 2,623 2,734 2,711 100.00

Notes:

The total student enrolment in the graduate courses in engineering management has been divided equally between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Information Technology and Engineering.



3. Nombre total de contrats et de subventions de recherche Total Number of Research Contracts and Grants

Department or School Number of contracts and grants


Chemical and Biological Engineering 33 48 48 44 47 44.00 13.37 Civil Engineering 34 43 52 56 63 49.60 15.07 Mechanical Engineering 35 28 46 45 50 40.80 12.39 School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 1 161 177 212 214 210 194.80 59.17 Subtotal 263 296 358 359 370 329.20 100 Other 2 4 7 10 11 12 8.80 Faculty Total 267 303 368 370 382 338.00

Notes:

1 including Centre for Research in Photonics 2 entries for Faculty of Engineering and Engineering Joint Programs



4. Valeur totale des contrats et subventions de recherche Total Value of Research Contracts and Grants

Department or School Total value of contracts and grants ($) 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 5-yr average % of total

Chemical and Biological Engineering 1,224,512 1,897,173 1,573,951 1,501,056 1,281,817 1,495,702 11.71 Civil Engineering 926,344 1,468,231 1,575,400 1,873,967 1,876,334 1,544,055 12.09 Mechanical Engineering 1,147,500 1,193,431 2,158,439 1,153,480 1,624,849 1,455,540 11.39 School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 1 6,821,448 8,000,949 9,578,706 8,350,387 8,646,918 8,279,682 64.81 Subtotal 10,119,805 12,559,785 14,886,496 12,878,890 13,429,918 12,774,979 100.00 Other 2 516,165 722,622 766,809 792,103 1,435,324 846,605 Faculty Total 10,635,970 13,282,407 15,653,306 13,670,993 14,865,242 13,621,583 Notes:

1 including Centre for Research in Photonics 2 entries for Faculty of Engineering and Engineering Joint Programs



Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

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10111213141516

2008 -‐ 2009 2009 -‐ 2010 2010 -‐ 2011 2011 -‐ 2012Program enrolment Course enrolmentR&D grants and contracts (#) R&D grants and contracts ($)Operating budget

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101112131415161718


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10121416182022


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161 Louis-Pasteur Bureau | Room A306 Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, CANADA

Tél. | Ph. (613) 562-5800, poste | ext. 6175

Téléc. | Fax (613) 562-5174 Courriel | E-mail: [email protected]


Cabinet du doyen | Dean’s Office

2011 – 2016 Action Plan of the Faculty of Engineering (Draft – July 2011)

Introduction The 2011 – 2016 Action Plan of the Faculty of Engineering, hereinafter referred to as the ‘Plan’, was developed by the Faculty Executive Committee during the period May – September 2011. The Plan builds on the outcomes of the Faculty’s 2006 – 2011 Action Plan and it is aligned with the institutional goals of the Vision 2020 strategic plan of the University of Ottawa. The Plan identifies five (5) areas of focus and nineteen (19) specific objectives / actions on which the Faculty must focus during the 2011 – 2016 period. Area of focus #1: To improve the university experience of our students and to innovate in the areas of

teaching methods and of program content. Specific objectives / actions:

• To modernize teaching laboratory facilities and equipment and to innovate in the area of laboratory teaching and learning.

• To better recognize quality and innovation in teaching. • To implement teaching evaluations for Teaching Assistants. • To create annual Faculty awards for outstanding Part-time Professors and Teaching Assistants. • To eliminate the duplication of courses between the winter and summer terms during the third

year of the undergraduate program on a program-by-program basis. Area of focus #2: To improve the overall efficiency of the Faculty’s administrative and student

support services and activities. Specific objectives / actions:

• To review the administrative structures and procedures for the purpose of standardizing operations in the Faculty.

• To review the allocation of support staff positions within the academic and service units of the Faculty for the purpose of reducing turnover and duplication of work and of increasing efficiency during peak periods.

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Area of focus #3: To improve the reputation and the perception of the Faculty by potential undergraduate students.

Specific objectives / actions:

• To improve the effectiveness of the Faculty’s presence in high schools (e.g. recruiting Faculty students to serve as ambassadors to the high schools they graduated from, developing more effective and appropriate promotion materials and activities for high school students).

Area of focus #4: To better connect the Faculty with external stakeholders in the private and public

sectors in order to better support our mission of education, advancement of knowledge, and service.


• To develop and post short online video webinars related to each professor of the Faculty. • To have faculty members make semi-formal presentations on topics of general interest on a

regular basis. • To better engage external partners (e.g. invited guest speakers or lecturers, part-time professors). • To encourage faculty members to spend academic leaves in the private sector. • To host more national and international conferences in Ottawa. • To establish Advisory Boards for each of the four academic units of the Faculty.

Area of focus #5: To secure additional financial resources for the Faculty through incremental

undergraduate student enrolment and retention, additional external research funding (and associated indirect costs / overhead revenues), and increased philanthropic donations in order to appropriately support our core academic activities as well as the new initiatives that we wish to pursue.


• To facilitate the development of major joint research proposals (identification of teams and themes).

• To increase the number of Teaching Associate positions in the Faculty in order to allow regular faculty members to devote more time to research and graduate supervision.

• To identify high failure rate undergraduate courses in order to take early corrective actions to improve student retention.

• To use the financial resources of the Faculty Development Fund to support research-related programs and activities.

• To proactively contribute at correcting and improving the University’s operating budget allocation process and criteria.

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