The Senate is responsible for the establishment and regulation of academic policy, standards, and procedures at OCAD University. In particular, the Senate and its many committees are in charge of academic matters pertaining to OCAD U‚ including all program curricula and courses of study, academic strategic planning, student-facing and academic administrative policies, and other such related academic priorities and initiatives. Membership of Senate consists predominantly of faculty, but also includes undergraduate and graduate student representation, as well as representatives of the academic administration. The Senate normally meets on the last Monday of every month during the academic year.

For more information on the Senate, please see the OCAD University Senate By-Laws, visit our internal Senate SharePoint site, or contact Natalie Nanton, Senate Secretary at nnanton@ocadu.ca, or at 416-977-6000, Ext. 2856.

 

OCAD University Senate membership 2026/2027

Ex-Officio Senators

Ana Serrano 
President

Sandra Gabriele
Vice-President, Academic and Provost, and Vice-Chair of Senate

Jaime Watt 
Chancellor

Ashok Mathur 
Vice-President, Research, and Dean, Graduate Studies

Philippe Blanchard 
Interim Dean, Faculty of Art

Lesley-Ann Noel 
Dean, Faculty of Design

Sarita Srivastava 
Dean, Faculty of Arts & Science

Ben Peto 
University Registrar & Director, Enrolment Services

Susan Kun 
University Librarian

Faculty-area Faculty Senators - Art

Claire Brunet
Simon Glass
Alison Judd
Tannis Nielsen
James Olley
Nicholas Pye
Amy Wong

Faculty-area Faculty Senators - Design

Parantap Bhatt
Kestin Cornwall
Sugandha Gaur
Julian Goss
Richard Hunt
Michael Lee Poy
Jana Macalik

Faculty-area Faculty Senators - Faculty of Arts & Science

Tairone Bastien
Ian Clarke
Kate Hartman
Ian Keteku
Michelle Miller
Maria Belén Ordóñez
Anna Stielau

Faculty at-Large Senators

Ross Bullen 
Nina Leo 
Cindy Poremba 
Barbara Rauch 
Helmut Reichenbӓcher 
Peter Scott 
b.h. Yael 

Program Chairs - Faculty of Art

JJ Lee
Amy Swartz

Program Chairs - Faculty of Design

TBD
TBD

Program Chairs - Faculty of Arts and Science

TBD
TBD

Graduate Program Directors

Michele Mastroneni
Amish Morrell

Sessional Faculty Senators

TBD
TBD

Undergraduate Student Senators

TBD
Faculty of Art

TBD
Faculty of Design

TBD
Faculty of Arts & Science

Graduate Student Senator

TBD
Graduate Studies

Appointed Senators

Maggie Broda
External Member appointed by and from the Board of Governors

Peter Morin
Chair, Indigenous Education Council

Deanne Fisher
Vice-Provost, Students and International, appointed by virtue of office

Sean Baker
Director, Learning Pathways, appointed by virtue of office

Susan Ferguson
Director, Teaching and Learning, appointed by virtue of office

Melissa General
Director, Indigenous Initiatives, appointed by virtue of office

Senate meetings

At least seven regular Senate meetings will be held between September 1 and May 31, except where the secretary, in consultation with the Senate Executive Committee, determines that circumstances warrant a change from the normal schedule. No meeting of the senate will be of more than three hours in duration, except by the affirmative vote of two thirds of those present and voting to extend for a specific period of time. All outstanding business will be deferred until the next meeting, unless a special meeting is called.

Senate meetings will take place on the last Monday of every month, from 3:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., unless otherwise stated, during the Fall and Winter terms. For more information, please contact Natalie Nanton, Secretary to Senate at nnanton@ocadu.ca.

Minutes of each meeting will be posted after approval at Senate. An agenda for upcoming meetings will be made available in advance.

September 28, 2026AgendaMinutes
October 26, 2026AgendaMinutes
November 30, 2026AgendaMinutes
January 25, 2027AgendaMinutes
February 22, 2027AgendaMinutes
March 29, 2027AgendaMinutes
April 26, 2027AgendaMinutes
May 19, 2027AgendaMinutes