Learning and Research

Composition:

Elected from Senate
Faculty Members or Deans (5)
Students (2)
Graduate Student (1)
Convocation (1)

Ex Officio
Chancellor
President
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Provost and Vice-President, Academic, or in their absence, the Associate Provost
Dean of the College of Graduate Studies
Vice-Principal, Research
Associate Vice-President Students (non-voting; does not participate when considering matters relating to honorary degrees or emeritus status)
Director of Continuing Education or designate (voting) (Senate minutes, 18 May 2023)
Chief Librarian, Okanagan Campus (non-voting; does not participate when considering matters relating to honorary degrees or emeritus status)
Academic Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning (Senate minutes, 18 May 2023)
Director of Ceremonies (non-voting; only participates when considering matters related to honorary degrees)
Associate Director, Ceremonies and Events (non-voting; only participates when considering matters related to honorary degrees)
Registrar or designate (non-voting)

Quorum: 5 voting members (Senate minutes, 18 May 2023)

Terms of Reference

• To provide a leading forum for the discussion of the teaching and learning environment of the University, including the social and emotional well-being of all students, learners, faculty, and staff (Senate minutes, 28 May 2020).
• Responsible for recommending the following to Senate:
  • Matters relating to the learning and research environment, including – but not limited to – the Strategic Research Plan, the Academic Plan, and strategic learning initiatives;
  • The granting of honorary degrees and emeritus status, and any associated policies;
  • Matters relating to Meetings of the Convocation and tributes;
  • Matters relating to international programs and initiatives;
  • Matters relating to the management and conduct of the Library;
  • Proposals for the organization or reorganization of research institutes and centres (Senate minutes, 28 May 2020); and
  • To consider matters related to regalia and academic dress, and to make recommendations thereon to Senate (Senate minutes, 27 April 2023).

Committee Summary

Affectionately known as the L and R Committee, the members of this Committee are responsible for matters relating to:

• the entire learning and research environment and initiatives of the institution, including the library
• the granting of honorary degrees, emeritus status, and any associated policies; and
• convocation and tributes issues.

The Committee has diverse responsibilities providing a dynamic opportunity for contributing to the progress and development of our institution. Transformational teaching and research are at the heart of the institutional mandate and our Committee plays a considerable role in affecting this. We work closely with the Academic Policy and Curriculum Committees as well.

Over the last 3 years, our Committee has worked considerably on revising honorary degree processes including revoking of degrees and re-establishing the importance of these degrees. We have done the same for emeritus status. Research institute naming, adding and folding, and advocacy for equal research chairs at UBCO has also been a key item of work. Much effort was put into the development, implementation and evaluation of the new student experience of instruction evaluation. Work has started on the integrative evaluation of teaching. We lived through COVID in this Triennium so there was also considerable review of best practices for teaching learned through this time. Other topics and issues for input from our Committee included class recording practices, use of technology, academic integrity, student wellbeing, grading and exam policies, scheduling, space, graduation dress, and many more.

During the upcoming Triennium we are looking forward to continuing work on grading and exam policies, space, emeritus and honorary degrees, integrative evaluation of teaching, Committee membership, and high impact learning and research. Discussion will also be held around possible division of the committee into two; Tributes and L and R. The tributes part of the folder is large and may need its own focus. Graduation attire discussion and guideline development will also be a large project to effectively integrate Indigenous and other cultural traditions into our ceremonies. We look forward to also continuing with our two meetings each year with our counterpart committee on the Vancouver campus. It is a wonderful opportunity to share similar challenges and  facilitate synergy in progress.

As a Senator pondering what Committee to put your efforts into, this is a rewarding one. We are a busy Committee which means your input and engagement at each meeting will be critical to progressing our work. The numerous issues we deal with, and that arise during the year, provides variety within our mandate. The Committee addresses the very reason for the institution; teaching and research. We impact and make a difference to the educational experiences of our students. In addition, being on the L and R Committee provides an opportunity for all of its members to learn and develop as leaders, from the shared diverse perspectives and scenarios we are exposed to.

Membership

Elected from Senate (9)

Princess Amuta (Student)
​Dr. Simon Bates
Dr. Sabre Cherkowski
Dr. Gino DiLabio
Dr. Sandy Hilton
Amanda Shatzko (Student)
Aparjita Shinde (Student)
Dr. Sally Willis-Stewart (Chair)

Ex Officio
Chancellor
President
​Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Provost

Dr. Peter J. Simpson, Dean of the College of Graduate Studies
Dr. Philip Barker, Vice-Principal, Research
Mr. Dale Mullings, Associate Vice-President, Students (non-voting: does not participate when considering matters relating to honorary degrees or emeritus status)
Heather Berringer, Associate Provost, Academic Operations and Services, designate for Director Continuing Education
Robert Janke, Interim Chief Librarian, Okanagan Campus Library (non-voting: does not participate when considering matters relating to honorary degrees or emeritus status)
Ms. Liz King, Director of Ceremonies (non-voting: only participates when considering matters related to honorary degrees)
Alanna Vernon, Associate Director, Ceremonies and Events (non-voting; only participates when considering matters related to honorary degrees)
Registrar (non-voting)

Meeting Schedule