Senate

The Senate was established through the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ Act, 1972 and is responsible for academic programs, educational policies, faculty appointments and tenure, qualifications for degrees and diplomas, conferring honorary degrees and appointing the Chancellor. The Senate also has the power, subject to the approval of the Board insofar as the expenditures of funds is concerned, to create, modify or remove schools, institutes, departments or chairs.Ìý
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The composition of Senate is representative of the University community, with both elected and ex-officio membership. ÌýSenators include faculty members, undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, governors and administrative staff. The Act requires that the Senate have a majority of elected faculty members.
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The Senate conducts its business through committees that bring recommendations to the Senate at regularly scheduled meetings through the governance year. ÌýMeetings include open session, which guests are welcome to attend, and closed sessions reserved for Senators.
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  • The President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Vivek Goel, is the Chair of Senate.
  • The Vice-President, Academic and Provost, Dr. ThomasÌýDuever, is the Vice-Chair of Senate.
  • The Secretary of Senate is Genevieve Gauthier-Chalifour, with Ashley DayÌýdesignated as the Associate University Secretary for Senate.

Information for Visitors (non-Senators) interested in attending a meeting of Senate is available here.

Membership 2025-2026

Name

Membership/Title

End of Term
Vivek Goel [Chair]

Ex-Officio, President and Vice-Chancellor

June 30, 2027

Jagdeep Bachher

Ex-Officio, Chancellor

June 30, 2026

Thomas Duever [Vice-Chair]- Ex-Officio, Interim Vice-President, Academic and Provost June 30, 2027
Jacinda Reitsma Ex-Officio, Vice-President, Administration & Finance April 30, 2027
Charmaine Dean Ex-Officio, Vice-President, Research & International April 30, 2027
Lili Liu Ex-Officio, Dean of Heath June 30, 2027
Alexie Tcheuyap Ex-Officio, Dean of Arts June 30, 2029
Mary Wells Ex-Officio, Dean of Engineering June 30, 2028
Bruce Frayne Ex-Officio, Dean of Environment June 30, 2027
Jochen Koenemann Ex-Officio, DeanÌýof Mathematics June 30, 2030
Chris Houser Ex-Officio, Dean of Science` June 30, 2028
Beth Sandore Namachchivaya Ex-Officio, University Librarian Ìý
Cathy Newell Kelly Ex-Officio, Registrar Ìý
Marcus Shantz Ex-Officio, President, Conrad Grebel University College December 30, 2027
Marc Jerry Ex-Officio, President, RenisonUniversity College June 30, 2029
Peter Meehan Ex-Officio, President, St. Jerome’s University Ìý
Richard Myers Ex-Officio, Principal, United College June 30, 2026
Murray Gamble Ex-Officio, Chair Board of Governors Ìý
Aubrey Basdeo Member, Board of Governors, Community-at-Large August 31, 2026
Vacant Member, Board of Governors,ÌýCommunity-at-Large Ìý
Teresa Fortney Ex-Officio, Board of Governors,ÌýCommunity-at-Large Ìý
Vacant Member, Board of Governors,ÌýCommunity-at-Large Ìý
Christopher Taylor Ex-Officio, Associate Vice-President, EDI-R Ìý
Jean Becker Ex-Officio, Associate Vice-President,ÌýIndigenous Relations Ìý
David DeVidi Ex-Officio, Associate Vice-President, Academic Ìý
Paul Fieguth Ex-Officio, Associate Vice-President, Academic Operations Ìý
Justin Wan Ex-Officio, Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs Ìý
David Porreca Ex-Officio, FAUW President Ìý
Damian Mikhail Ex-Officio, Undergraduate Association President Ìý
Meray Sadek Ex-Officio, Graduate Association President Ìý
Vacant Member, Faculty of Arts August 31, 2027
Shana MacDonald Member, Faculty of Arts August 31, 2026
James Skidmore Member, Faculty of Arts August 31, 2027
David Clausi Member, Faculty of Engineering August 31, 2028
Christopher Nielsen Member, Faculty of Engineering August 31, 2026
En-Hui Yang Member, Faculty of Engineering August 31, 2027
Jeffery Wilson Member, Faculty of Environment August 31, 2028
Johanna Wandel Member, Faculty of Environment August 31, 2027
Clarence Woudsma Member, Faculty of Environment August 31, 2028
Helen Chan Member, Faculty of Health August 31, 2028
Vacant Member, Faculty of Health Ìý
Vacant Member, Faculty of Health Ìý
Raouf Boutaba Member, Faculty of Mathematics August 31, 2028
Achim Kempf Member, Faculty of Mathematics August 31, 2026
Cecilia Cotton Member, Faculty of Mathematics August 31, 2027
Laura Deakin Member, Faculty of Science August 31, 2028
Colleen Maxwell Member, Faculty of Science August 31, 2026
Vacant Member, Faculty of Science Ìý
KarenÌýSunabacka Member, AFIW Faculty, Conrad Grebel August 31, 2028
Sharon Roberts Member, AFIW Faulty, Renison August 31, 2028
John Abraham Member, AFIW Faculty, United August 31, 2027
Scott Kline Member, AFIW Faculty, St. Jerome's August 31, 2028
Carol Ann MacGregor Member, AFIW Faculty, St. Jerome's August 31, 2026
Veronica Austen Member, AFIW Faculty, St. Jerome's August 31, 2027
Michael Drescher Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Neil Randall Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Nasser Abukhdeir Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Jun Liu Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Pendar Mahmoudi Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Nadine Ibrahim Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Rob Gorbet Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
James Nugent Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Mark Seasons Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Mark Ferro Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Peter Hall Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Martin Cooke Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Brad Lushman Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Sushanta Mitra Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Christiane Lemieux Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Blake Madill Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Hans De Sterck Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Kevin Hare Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Sachin Kotecha Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Ondrej Lhotakm Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2027
Carter Neal Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Stan Woo Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2026
Su-Yin Tan Member, Faculty-At-Large August 31, 2028
Andrew Chang Member, Undergraduate Student (Arts) August 31, 2026
Rida Sayed Member, Undergraduate Student (Engineering) August 31, 2027
Katie Traynor Member, Undergraduate Student (Environment) August 31, 2026
Christopher Lim Member, Undergraduate Student (Health) August 31, 2027
Alex Pawelko Member, Undergraduate Student (Mathematics) August 31, 2027
Jordan Bauman Member, Undergraduate Student Science August 31, 2026
Misha Khan Member, Undergraduate Student-at-large August 31, 2026
Arya Razmjoo Member, Undergraduate Student-at-large August 31, 2027
Laith Alkhawaldeh Member, Graduate Student August 31, 2027
Yasmeen Almomani Member, Graduate Student August 31, 2027
Jessica Rindlisbacher Member, Graduate Student August 31, 2027
Nicholas Pellegrino Member, Graduate Student August 31, 2026
Acey Kaspar Member, Alumni August 31, 2026
Sharon Tucker Member, Almuni August 31, 2026
Vikas Gupta Member, Alumni August 31, 2027
Diana Vangelisti Member, Alumni August 31, 2027