SENATE COMMITTEE ON PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Minutes of a meeting held on: Thursday, November 29, 2013, 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm 1010 Sherbrooke St. West - Room 1110 (Downtown Campus)

Present: J. Nicell, J. Jorgensen, G. Fussmann, D. Koen (replacing C. Cook), J. Rousham, N. Luka, G. Multhaup, J. Hobbins, , J. Gutman, J. Redel, E. Henry, K. Ng, C. Adler, B. Karasick (Secretary)

Regrets: C. Madramootoo, A. Watson, J. Luker, L. Hermo, H. Wilicka, K. Nugent, D. Covo

Invited Guests: B. Lennox

1. The proposed Agenda was approved.

2. Minutes of the meeting of May 10, 2012 were approved with the addition of the word “included” at the end of the last sentence in Section 4 as relates to the McLennan Redpath Terrace.

3. Business Arising

a) Update on new, on-going or planned projects  Wilson Hall redevelopment – 6-8 month delay to date awaiting approval to proceed from Infrastructure . The University is required to submit a dossier to justify the project as part of this procedure. Infrastructure Quebec is to assess and advise on project management.  Cyber-Med project – The project is underway with a budget of $4M. It is similar in concept to the Cybertheque project in the Redpath Library Building. It will also include teaching and study spaces. Several programs in Medicine are relying on the upgraded teaching spaces to meet their accreditation requirements.  Dentistry Clinic relocation – The current Dental Clinic located in the General Hospital must be move out by August 2014, as required by the MUHC. An expansion and upgrade of facilities is proposed within a long-term rental space. A business plan is currently being prepared.  Other major projects including deferred maintenance o Royal Victoria Hospital – The facility is to be vacated by 2015. At this time its future use remains unclear. o Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building fire safety upgrade – The project is 80% complete and has been going on for 2 years. It should be completed by February 2013. o Maass Teaching Labs - $4M budget. Minor deficiencies should be completed for April 2013. o Network and Communications Services infrastructure upgrade - $4.3M budget. To be completed for December 31, 2012

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o Northeast Service Tunnel replacement – Connects between Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building and Duff Medical Building. $10M budget. The project is currently in design but implementation will be delayed due to the City of Montreal’s waterworks infrastructure project. o Summer Boiler project – Project is complete and energy savings are to begin as of April 2013 when main boilers are closed down. Payback is less than 4 years. A temporary emergency generator was located beside the James Building to make room for the new boiler. A permanent project to house this and a second emergency generator is in planning. o Chiller Replacements – Includes unit in Ferrier Building as well as Burnside Hall. Removal of absorption systems and replacement with electric units will also reduce demand for steam. o Waste Energy recovery project – Project to use excess heat produced in the Burnside Hall main computer room to pre-heat air going to the Maass Chemistry Building, which has a high air exchange demand. The infrastructure is located in the Maass mechanical room. o Energy Audits - Systematic based on observations made from energy use profiles (energy dashboard) which involved the installation of a series of meters to monitor energy consumption.

b) City of Montreal – McTavish Reservoir and McTavish Street repairs (update)  Report on current status and proposed plans of the City waterworks repairs related to the reservoir was given.

4. New Business  SCPD Annual Report 2011-12 o The 2011-12 Annual Report of SCPD activities was distributed to members. The document will be presented to Senate imminently.  Capital Budget – Renovations of classrooms and teaching laboratories o The annual funding for Teaching and Learning Services initiatives for both classrooms and teaching labs is to be increased by $1M for both classroom and teaching lab infrastructure. Allocations will now be as follows: Classrooms - $2M infrastructure + 0.7M technology - Teaching Labs $2M infrastructure + $1M technology  Research competitions with an infrastructure element: o CFI (Round VII) – McGill received $21M in CFI funding with successful projects from prof. Grutter (Physics); prof. McKee (Dentistry) and prof. Gehring (Chemistry). o CERC – 2 of 3 McGill submissions were approved to advance to the next stage. These projects are in Green Chemistry and Pain.  Committee Chair (2013) o No successor has been named as yet but it is assumed that the new Associate Vice-Principal (University Services) will act as the committee chair.

5. Sub-committee reports  Gardens and Grounds Sub-Committee - No report made  Architectural Advisory Committee - No report made  Visual Arts Committee – No report made

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6. Theme Presentation

Presentation by Professor Bruce Lennox – “The impact of infrastructure on curriculum and teaching - Recent changes in Chemistry

 The nature of chemical intensity in undergraduate education has changed hugely in 50 years. When chemical sophistication exceeds resource capabilities, one has to migrate to “demonstration” from “experimentation”  Otto Maass Chemistry opened in 1964 building; was built for another era.  Curriculum reform was inhibited by a 1964 facility which by now was worn out  Capacity issues also forced the use of research labs for overflow

 A radical new design for both research and teaching labs has revolutionized teaching and allowed undergraduates to undertake sophisticated experiments within their curriculum.

 Two projects have been completed and are now in use. One additional project is planned but is awaiting the availability of funding.

Brian Karasick

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