Standing Committee of the Academic Board

The Professorial Board Standing Committee was established by resolution of the Professorial Board at its meeting on 30 March 1921. It acted as Executive of the Board. [see Minutes of the Professorial Board, 30 March 1921, pp. 23/24]At that meeting the Warden, seconded by Professor Anderson, had given the following motion: “That an Executive Committee of the Professorial Board be appointed biennially; such Executive Committee to consist of the Warden, the Chairman, the Deans of four Faculties who are Fellows of the Senate and six members of the Board elected by the Board by ballot. The members first elected shall hold office until November 1921 and elections shall then and thereafter be held biennially.”The motion was amended and ‘Standing’ was substituted for ‘Executive’. The following was then added to the amended and adopted motion: “It shall be the duty of the Standing Committee to consider and report on all business to be submitted to the Professorial Board.” The following six members of the Board were elected to the first Standing Committee in office until November 1921: Professors Fawsitt, MacCallum, Madsen, Pollock, Read and Watt.’ The Standing Committee held its first meeting on 25th April 1921. Members of the Standing Committee  were first listed in the University Calendar in 1922, p.562. Members of the Committee in its new composition, holding office from November 1921 to November 1923, were the Warden, the Chairman, Professors David, Fawsitt, Holme, MacCallum, Madsen, Mills, Peden, Read, Associate-Professor Vonwiller and Professor Watt.All committees of the Academic Board reported to the Board through the Standing Committee. (see Minutes AB, 13 June 1975)On 18 June 1975 the Professorial Board transitioned to become the Academic Board. The Academic Board inherited all business before the Professorial Board together with all Committees and procedures. At that time the function of the Standing Committee was to examine the whole of the Agenda for the Board meeting and make recommendations with respect to those parts of it that appeared not to raise questions of policy or selection that the Board ought to consider at its full meeting. The items on which the Standing Committee made recommendations were not starred on the agenda; unstarred items the were moved as a whole by the Professorial Board at its meeting and passed. By then the Standing Committee consisted of ex-officio members (i.e. the V-C, Deputy V-Cs, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Board), the Registrar, the 10 Deans and four other members elected to it for two years because of their experience in administration.In view of the amalgamations taking place in 1990, the Academic Board was reviewed in 1989. The new by-laws (Chapter 8, section 4, p146, 1989 Calendar) made provisions for an Executive Committee of the Academic Board. The Academic Board approved the constitution of the Standing Committee (Executive Committee) at its meeting on 18 September 1989 and discussed the establishment, function and composition of the new Executive Committee. The function of the Standing Committee was to consider and make recommendations on the agenda items prior to the meeting of the Academic Board and to approve on behalf of the Board the appointment of of academic appointment and promotions committees and to consider the recommendations of promotions and selection committees.Thee Academic Board was again reviewed in 1995. Senate adopted the review report on 3 October 1995 and established an implementation team to oversee the transition to the new Board. An amendment to Chapter 8 (Academic Governance) of the Bylaws was enacted - to reconstitute the Academic Board and to provide for Senate to make rules regarding the Board, and to establish an Academic Forum and provide for the Senate to make rules regarding the Forum.The final meeting of the old Academic Board was held on 21October 1996, with the first meeting of the new Academic Forum being held on 28 October 1996 and the first meeting of the new Board being held on 13 November 1996. All committees of the previous Academic Board lapsed with the establishment of the new Board. (At the first meeting of the new Board the Chair proposed an agenda committee be set up to consider issues for the new Board as well as for the Academic Forum.)