In walked the Senators with eyes alight, their bearing noble. With nary a flinch, they set to work, staring down a February 8 agenda that included technology transfer, liquor permits and library tenure.
Following a eulogy for former Professor George Fekete, the meeting opened with Provost Masi thanking the working group on library regulations, saying that they have succeeded in creating a set of regulations that will be brought to Senate soon after they have been approved by MAUT. Masi added that the renewal process of tenure track librarians is mirroring the one in place for academic staff, and that the university will in time meet the challenge of raising librarian salaries to the level of their G-10 counterparts.
The Principal then took the floor to salute high attendance at Open House and to thank the debonair Dean Kasirer for leading a record Centraide campaign. In response to invasive photos of parties that appeared in a Montreal tabloid, she expressed concern for student well-being and called on the student body and their leaders to ensure that their activities meet social and other goals without putting anybody at risk.
Senator Krajewska then inquired whether the university has been profiting from a 10 percent fee that is collected for student events involving liquor. VP Yalovsky replied by explaining that the fee does not even cover the transaction costs incurred by the school as a result of licensing, insurance and accounting expenses related to such events.
The Senators concluded the meeting with a discussion of the office of technology transfer policy as VP Therien reported that the OTT is in need of a new course after the January departure of director Richard Bruno.
Senator Robaire followed by urging the school to draw on the knowledge of the Senate Committee on Technology Transfer, and stated that proposals to move the OTT off campus would only exacerbate tensions between the office's academic and commercial missions. Dean Eley added that better information about the office and its licensing streams would disabuse grad students of the notion that the university is profiting from their research. The overall discussion suggested that the OTT is in a period of reinvention and that VP Therrien will explore a variety of ideas for its reinvigoration.