Senate
Accessibility
KPU Senate is committed to making our meetings and documents accessible for everyone. We are currently using Microsoft Teams to host our online meetings and provide the following supports:
- live captioning
- transcription of meeting notes
- meeting minutes
- monitored chat and Q & A
- supportive voting and polling
Please let us know if you require any additional supports in order for you to be able to access and participate in our meetings.
There are several ways you can request supports to ensure an accessible meeting for you. The Senate office will make every attempt to accommodate your request with a minimum of 3 days notice. Please note that some supports may require additional time to obtain.
1. Email us at senate@kpu.ca
2. Call us at 604-599-2357
3. Submit a request form by visiting the Senate Access Form.
Roles and Responsibilities
Senate is the senior academic governing body at Kwantlen Polytechnic University constituted under the University Act.
The Act provides for establishment of special purpose teaching universities with bicameral governance. The academic branch is known as Senate and has powers and duties including:
- setting criteria for awarding certificates, diplomas and degrees, including honorary degrees;
- setting curriculum content for programs;
- setting qualifications for admission;
- setting criteria for academic standing, academic standards and the grading system;
- setting policies and procedures for appeals by students on academic matters and establishing a final appeal tribunal for these appeals.
Additionally, Senate has the mandate to advise the Board of Governors on matters including:
- educational goals, objectives, strategies and priorities of the University;
- establishment, revision or discontinuance of courses and programs;
- priorities for implementation of new programs;
- establishment or discontinuance of Faculties;
- evaluation of programs and educational services;
- library and resource centres;
- setting of the academic schedule;
- qualifications for faculty members.
Senate Bylaws
Membership Composition
The composition of Senate is defined by the University Act.
Chair: President and Vice-Chancellor
Voting Members
- Chancellor
- President and Vice-Chancellor
- Vice-President, Academic
- Deans of Faculties
- Chief Librarian
- Two faculty members from each Faculty
- Four students
- Alumni member
- Two support staff
Non-Voting Members
- Registrar
- Board appointee
Election Procedures
- Members of a Faculty elect faculty members.
- Students elect student members.
- The KPU Alumni Association nominates an alumni member, who is not a faculty member, to the President.
The President appoints the alumni member. - Support staff elect support staff members. Support staff are employees of the special purpose, teaching university who are not officers, deans, or faculty members of the university.
Terms of Office
- Students: one year
- Faculty and support staff: three years
- Alumni senator: three years
2025 - 2026 Senators
VOTING | ROLE | TERM END |
Kwuntiltunaat (Kim Baird) | Chancellor | Ex officio |
Bruce Choy, Chair | President | Ex officio |
Diane Purvey | Provost and Vice-President, Academic | Ex officio |
Todd Mundle | University Librarian | Ex officio |
DEANS | ||
Aimee Begalka | Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation | Ex officio |
Shelley Boyd | Faculty of Arts | Ex officio |
Zena Mitchell | Faculty of Educational Support and Development | Ex officio |
Sharmen Lee | Faculty of Health | Ex officio |
Amy Jeon | Faculty of Science | Ex officio |
Laura McDonald | Faculty of Trades and Technology | Ex officio |
Heather Harrison | Melville School of Business | Ex officio |
Andhra Goundrey | Wilson School of Design | Ex officio |
STUDENT SENATORS | ||
Raymond Chou | August 31, 2026 | |
Sheena Dela Torre | August 31, 2026 | |
Harkomalpreet Gill | August 31, 2026 | |
Gurnoor Kaur | August 31, 2025 | |
FACULTY SENATORS | ||
Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation | ||
Diane Van der Gucht | Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation | August 31, 2026 |
Mike Larsen | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2027 |
Tara Lyons | Faculty of Arts | August 31, 2027 |
Celia Brinkerhoff | Faculty of Educational Support and Development | August 31, 2027 |
Melissa Cuthill | Faculty of Educational Support and Development | August 31, 2027 |
Catherine Schwichtenberg | Faculty of Health | August 31, 2028 |
Laura Del Rio Torres | Faculty of Health | August 31, 2026 |
Allyson Rozell | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2027 |
Richard Popoff | Faculty of Science | August 31, 2028 |
Faculty of Trades and Technology | ||
Mike Mann | Faculty of Trades and Technology | August 31, 2026 |
Hannah Celinski | Melville School of Business | August 31, 2027 |
Judy Benevides | Melville School of Business | August 31, 2026 |
Lindsay Norris | Wilson School of Design | August 31, 2026 |
Michael Cober | Wilson School of Design | August 31, 2027 |
SUPPORT STAFF SENATORS | ||
Jenna Smith | Professional Support Staff Senator | August 31, 2027 |
Professional Support Staff Senator | ||
APPOINTEES | ||
Alumni Senator | August 31, 2027 | |
NON-VOTING | ROLE | TERM END |
Nadia Henwood, Secretary | University Registrar | Ex officio |
Board of Governors Appointee | August 31, 2026 | |
David Burns | Dean pro tem, Faculty of Graduate Studies | Ex-officio |
2025–2026 Meeting Schedule
Senate will meet online except when noted below.
In-person location: Surrey Cedar Board Room
MS Teams online: To join a meeting, please use the link in the Meeting Date column below.
Time: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE | MEETING DATE | FORMAT | AGENDA PACKAGE | APPROVED MINUTES |
---|---|---|---|---|
September 15, 2025 | Monday, September 29, 2025 | hybrid | September 29, 2025 | September 29, 2025 |
October 13, 2025 | Monday, October 27, 2025 | online | October 27, 2025 | October 27, 2025 |
November 10, 2025 | Monday, November 24, 2025 | online | November 24, 2025 | November 24, 2025 |
January 12, 2026 | Monday, January 26, 2026 | online | January 26, 2026 | January 26, 2026 |
February 16, 2026 | Monday, March 2, 2026 | online | March 2, 2026 | March 2, 2026 |
March 16, 2026 | Monday, March 30, 2026 | online | March 30, 2026 | March 30, 2026 |
April 13, 2026 | Monday, April 27, 2026 | online | April 27, 2026 | April 27, 2026 |
May 11, 2026 | Monday, May 25, 2026 | online | May 25, 2026 | May 25, 2026 |
June 15, 2026 | Monday, June 29, 2026 | online | June 29, 2026 | June 29, 2026 |
Senate Membership Archives Archived Senate Agendas Archived Senate Minutes
History
How We Got Here
1972: Our journey starts with Douglas College
1981: Kwantlen College splits from Douglas
1995: Kwantlen becomes the last of the University Colleges established with degree granting status
2008: Kwantlen Polytechnic University begins
In April 2007, Geoff Plant, Q.C., recommended in his Campus 2020 publication that BC's remaining university colleges be designated as regional universities and that they adopt the governance structure of Thompson Rivers University (TRU). Following this announcement, Kwantlen, Malaspina and UCFV undertook to study the TRU governance structure.
During the fall of 2007, a working group was established within Education Council to explore changes to the governance structure in anticipation of this transition. Membership of the working group:
- Dianne Crisp
- Dana Cserepes
- Jody Gordon
- Carolyn Robertson
- Takashi Sato
- Newton Wainman
In April 2008, Premier Gordon Campbell visited Surrey campus and announced that Kwantlen was now officially a Polytechnic University. A week later, the University Amendment Act was introduced in the legislature. It described a bicameral governance structure, more or less in the form anticipated.
Once the legislation was adopted, the group was expanded to include:
- David Atkinson
- Rebecca Darnell
- Dana Goedbloed
- Sandi Klassen
- Ken McIntyre
- Judith McGillivray
- Karen Metzger
- Scott Nicoll
This working group's task was to interpret the legislation and develop ways to implement its requirements within the Kwantlen context. It worked through the summer and produced a series of recommendations brought to Education Council on September 8, 2008. In the transition, Education Council acted as the Senate and worked to establish the foundations of the full Senate. During the fall 2008 semester, elections were called to fill the newly established Senate seats. Senate held its first meeting in January 2009.
Governance Documents
- Academic Governance Transition Background (Aug 2008)
- Resolutions Approved on October 6, 2008
- Powers of Senate, Board of Governors, and Faculties (excerpts from University Act)
- Powers of Board of Governors(excerpts from University Act)
- University Act
- Robert's Rules of Order- summary chart
- Principles to Guide Bi-Cameral Governance at KPU
Reference
Presentation - University Governance and the Senate by Dr. Ross Paul (Aug 2, 14)
Presentation - Senate and Legislation by Patrick Gilligan Hackett (Feb 2012) | Part 1 of 2 | Part 2 of 2
Discussion - On the Possible Amalgamation of the Faculties of Humanities & Social Sciences(Jan 2011)
Education Council (Forerunner to Senate)
Administrative Support: Senate Office
For Senate open office hours, please see Senate Engagement.