Board of Governors, May 3, 2001 - APPENDIX III (with addendum)
REPORT OF THE PROPERTY & FINANCE COMMITTEE
FOR APPROVAL
Recommended: That the new Policy on Emergency Response & Preparedness replace the former Policy on Emergency Planning and Response as Policy 1.4 (Annex 1).
Background:
During the past year, efforts to improve our response to emergencies have continued. Each major incident is reviewed, and improvement has been noted. However, continued effort is needed to develop better plans and processes under the Emergency Response Team (ERT), which includes Physical Plant, UWO Police, Occupational Health and Safety and Fire Prevention staff, as well as the University community.
The Emergency Response Team is responsible for managing incidents that threaten either persons or property. Depending on the nature of the emergency, this is accomplished through the coordination of on-site emergency services, liaison with the City of London Emergency Response Services, and the immediate provision of personnel, equipment, and institutional resources.
At UWO, the dispersed responsibility for emergency response has interfered with consolidation of a fixed approach to incident command and management. Continuing cutbacks have affected our institutional response, preparedness, training, risk management, and prevention.
A substantial restructuring of the program was undertaken in 2000. An Emergency Response Committee, co-chaired by the Associate Vice-Presidents of Human Resources and Physical Plant & Capital Planning was established. A sub-committee was struck to develop a comprehensive Disaster Plan. This revitalized approach has strengthened accountabilities. The committee will produce a document and program geared to a major emergency or disaster.
As part of the process it was determined that Policy 1.4 --Emergency Response and Preparedness -- should be amended (Annex 1). The proposed changes to increase accountabilities and identify authorities during an emergency include:
1.00 Definition of an emergency added.
2.00 (b) Clarified to require full evacuation of a building or area upon activation of a fire alarm or direction from emergency personnel.
6.00 Strengthened to reinforce the need to obey fire alarm - evacuate and not to reenter until authorization has been given.
12.00 Authority of the EOCG and the EOCG Director added.
14.00 New section defining policy applicability, unacceptable behaviour, and potential corrective action.
As noted above, a document related to UWO disaster planning is being produced, but is not yet complete. It will be brought to the Board through the Audit Committee. The amended policy and plan will be distributed to the University community upon approval. It is also planned to conduct an exercise with the EOCG (Emergency Operations Control Group) prior to the 2001 Canada Games.
Recommended: That the payout rate for non-endowed funds be reduced by 1% per year, effective April 1, 2001, and that Section 1.01 of the Investment Payout Policy (Policy 2.11) be amended as follows:
Non-Endowed Funds
1.01 The payout rate on all non-endowed funds will be set each calendar quarter to be equal to the rate of return on 30 day Treasury bills for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. This rate will be reduced by 115 basi s points per year to contribute to the cost of custodial services, administrative costs and investment management fees.
Background:
Non-endowed funds currently receive a monthly allocation of investment returns based on the rate of return on the 30 day treasury bill index, less 0.15% per year as a contribution to investment management expenses. Many of these non-endowed accounts are similar to chequing accounts in that payments and deposits can occur on a daily basis.
The proposed 1% payout reduction for non-endowed funds is comparable to the 1% fee for administration that has been charged to endowments since May 1, 1997. In addition, this change will result in a payout rate that is more comparable to the external market.
The impact of this fee, using the payout rates for non-endowed funds for the first quarter of 2001, is as follows:
30 day treasury bill rate (4th quarter of 2000) = 5.40%
Less administrative fee of 15 basis points per year 0.15
Payout rate for non-endowed funds for 1st quarter2001 5.25
Less fee of 1.0% 1.00
Revised payout rate for non-endowed funds 4.25%
This fee will reduce the amounts that would otherwise be allocated to the non-endowed funds for spending by approximately $640,000 per year. These amounts will accumulate in the undistributed investment returns account, augmenting funds that are available for allocation to the operating or capital budgets.
FOR INFORMATION
The Property & Finance Committee has approved, on behalf of the Board of Governors, the following designated fellowships.
| Approved by P&F | See Details | |
| The Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Fellow & Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) as a seven-year term faculty fellowship, based on an expendable gift from the Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation for the Economic Policy Research Institute in the Faculty of Social Science. | March 12, 2001 | Annex 2-A |
| The Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Economy for a seven year term, based on an expendable gift from the Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation for the Economic Policy Research Institute in the Faculty of Social Science. | March 12, 2001 | Annex 2-B |
See Annex 3.
See Annex 4.
Report on Environmental Incidents and/or Safety Incidents
PCB Storage Facility
In January 2001 an enforcement officer from the Federal Environmental Protection branch visited the UWO PCB storage facility which is primarily used to store electrical light ballasts (which contain PCB's) that have been removed from University facilities. The inspector issued a warning related to the interior storage and inventory of the materials. The following are excerpts from the warning.
"That information gathered during an inspection of the PCB material storage site, located adjacent to the Visual Arts building on Perth Drive, at The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario on January 25, 2001, by the undersigned enforcement officer designated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999), gives me reasonable grounds to believe that The University of Western Ontario, and the persons named above are in violation of the Storage of PCB Materials Regulations, published August 27, 1992 in the Canada Gazette Part II, Vol.126, No.19, pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA)......
Section 2 of the Storage of PCB Material Regulations, defines "PCB storage site" as meaning a site referred to in Section 4, that is used to store PCB material. Section 2 defines "PCB material" as meaning any PCB equipment, PCB liquid, PCB solid, or PCB substance. The facility located adjacent to the Visual Arts building on Perth Drive, at The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario meets the definition of a PCB storage site.
This warning alleges a contravention of subsection 272(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act in failing to comply with the Storage of PCB Material Regulations. This warning is intended to bring this matter to your attention in order for you to take necessary action. This document is not a finding of guilt or civil liability, and is not an administrative adjudication."
It is noted that the facility had been inspected on a number of occasions by the provincial environmental inspector and although the facility is congested no observations were made re the facility. A $150,000 project to dispose of the PCB's which originated in November 2000 will go forward for approval as part of the Capital Plan in 2001/2002. In preparation for implementation of the disposal project a consultant has been hired to inventory and weigh the PCBs so that a contract for disposal can be tendered.
FOR INFORMATION
See Annex 4-Addendum .
The Report of the Investing in Students Task Force, entitled "Portals and Pathways" was enclosed with the agenda package. Attached (Annex 5) is a summary of the recommendations contained in the report.
On April 5, 2001, at 10:30 p.m., a fire in a wastepaper basket was discovered in a room at Middlesex College. The fire was extinguished by a Computer Centre Operator.
On April 24, 2001, at approximately 2:00 a.m. paper in two trash cans in the area of the Gym/Atrium of the UCC was burning. This set off the sprinkler system in the area (not the whole building) and a substantial amount of water was dumped into the building. Minutes after this event, trash in a can outside the UCC and a dumpster at Sydenham Hall was found burning. These fires were extinguished by the Student Emergency Response Team and the London Fire Department respectively. The fire alarm systems functioned appropriately. Fire damage was minimal, however some water damage occurred in the UCC.
The University Police Department and the London Police are investigating.
Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Fellow
& Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI)
| Donor and Funding: | The Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation has made
an expendable gift of $750,000 to fund the Economic
Policy Research Institute. Of the gift, $140,000 has
been designated toward the Royal Bank Financial
Group Foundation Fellow & Executive Director, to be
expended over a seven-year period, at the end of
which the Fellowship will terminate.
Under University policy, an amount equal to 5% of the total cash gift will be applied to support fundraising, donor management and stewardship costs. When the levy is taken into consideration, the amount available for spending is $133,000, or $19,000 per year in each of seven years to fund release time from teaching. Fund balances will generate interest according to the investment policies of the University (generally a money market rate of return on non-endowed funds). |
| Effective Date: | July 1, 2001 |
| Appointment: | Selection of the holder of the Fellowship will be according to the selection procedure specified in the constitution of the Institute. The Fellow & Executive Director will be a prominent academic interested in public dialogue. Appointments are for five years renewable. The holder of the Fellowship will normally be a full-time member of the Department of Economics or the Department of Political Science. |
| Duties: | The Fellow & Executive Director will be responsible for promoting the research agenda of the Institute and will carry out administrative duties to advance the activities of the Institute. |
| Reporting: | Each year the Fellow & Executive Director will provide the Dean of Social Science with a written report on the work of the Institute and of his/her own work on behalf of the Institute. The term "Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Fellow" will be mentioned in all publications or public activities relating to the Fellow's work. |
The Economic Policy Research Institute will foster and strengthen Western's tradition of research excellence by selectively combining the strengths and resources of both the Economics and Political Science Departments. The Institute will position Western as a national leader in the analysis of economic policy and in the training of Canada's next generation of leading policy analysts.
As part of its mandate, the Institute will host conferences, produce commentaries, publish discussion papers and bring in experts on public economics and political economy to speak and hold workshops at Western.
The breakdown of the donation is as follows:
· Core funding to the Institute over five years to support research, publication and public education
· Support for a seven-year term post-doctoral fellowship in Political Economy
· Support for a doctoral scholarship every year for seven years, alternating between economics and political science.
· Funding of a faculty fellowship for the Director of the Institute for each of the next seven years, providing administrative support to the Institute.
Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Economy
| Donor and Funding: | The Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation has made
an expendable gift of $750,000 to fund the Economic
Policy Research Institute. Of the gift, $280,000 has
been designated toward the Royal Bank Financial
Group Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political
Economy, to be expended over a seven year period, at
the end of which the Post-Doctoral Fellowship will
terminate.
Under University policy, an amount equal to 5% of the total cash gift will be applied to support fundraising, donor management and stewardship costs. When the levy is taken into consideration, the amount available for spending is $266,000, or $38,000 per year in each of seven years. The funds may be used in support of salary, travel, and research. |
| Effective Date: | September 1, 2001 |
| Appointment: | An appointment to the Post-Doctoral Fellowship will be conducted in accordance with the relevant policies of the University and awarded competitively based on a peer-review process. Criteria for selection include excellence, originality and collaboration. The Post-Doctoral Fellow is to be affiliated with the Political Economy Research Group in the Faculty of Social Science. Appointments are renewable for one year. |
| Criteria: | The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be a research-intensive position in keeping with the strategic direction or anticipated direction of the Economic Policy Research Institute. |
| Reporting: | Each year, the Royal Bank Group Foundation Fellow & Executive Director will provide the Dean of Social Science with a written report on the work of the Post-Doctoral Fellow. The term "Royal Bank Financial Group Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellow in Political Economy" will be mentioned in all publications or public activities relating to the Post-Doctoral Fellow's work on behalf of the Economic Policy Research Institute. |
The Economic Policy Research Institute will foster and strengthen Western's tradition of research excellence by selectively combining the strengths and resources of both the Economics and the Political Science Departments. The Institute will position Western as a national leader in the formation of policy analysis and in the training of Canada's next generation of leading policy analysts.
As part of its mandate, the Institute will host conferences, produce commentaries, publish discussion papers and bring in experts on public finance and political economy to speak and hold workshops at Western.
The breakdown of the donation is as follows:
· Core funding to the Institute over five years to support research, publication and public education
· Support for a seven year term post-doctoral fellowship in Political Economy
· Support for a doctoral scholarship every year for seven years, alternating between economics and political science.
· Funding of a faculty fellowship for the Director of the Institute for each of the next seven years, providing administrative support to the Institute.