Senate Council

St. Jerome’s University is committed to a bicameral governance structure. Senate Council is composed of members of the University administration, faculty members, contract academic staff, student representatives, and a representative from the University of Waterloo. It is the governing body responsible for academic policy development and programs.

Senate Council recommends to the University of Waterloo Senate for academic matters pertaining to UWaterloo degrees, or to the St. Jerome’s University Board of Governors for academic matters pertaining to St. Jerome’s University degrees.

St. Jerome's University Senate Council Terms of Reference.

Members

2025 - 2026 Membership

All full-time members of the faculty holding academic rank

Name	Department
Acton, Carol	English
Bednarski, Steven	History / Medieval Studies
Bonner, Kieran	Sociology and Legal Studies
Brabazon, Honor	Sociology and Legal Studies
Brophy, Susan	Sociology and Legal Studies
Burris, Chris	Psychology
Cauchi-Santoro, Roberta	Italian and French Studies
Connolly, Tristanne	English
Deman, Andrew	English
De Santis, Carm	Sexualities, Relationships, and Families
Desroches, Fred	Sociology and Legal Studies
Drysdale, Maureen	Psychology
Gregoire, Stephanie	Philosophy
Klassen, Norm	English
Kline, Scott	Religious Studies
Kolentsis, Alysia	English
Leroux-Demir, Carlie	Sociology and Legal Studies
Nicholas, Jane	History
Rempel, John	Psychology
Rodrigue, Carl	Sexualities, Relationships, and Families
Rye, BJ	Psychology
Sangalli, Yuri	Italian and French Studies
Seljak, David	Religious Studies
Serafini, Toni	Sexualities, Relationships, and Families
Spielmacher, Mark	English
Stumpf, Andrew	Philosophy / Religious Studies
Sutherland, Siobhan	Psychology
Tataryn, Anastasia	Sociology and Legal Studies
Terzian, Sylvia	English
Touhey, Ryan	History
Tremblay, Bruno	Philosophy
Vanin, Cristina	Religious Studies
Whitehead, Denise	Sexualities, Relationships, and Families / Sociology and Legal Studies
Williams, David	English
Wriglesworth, Chad	English
Zunic, Nikolaj	Philosophy

Ex-officio Members

Name	Title
Meehan, Peter	President and Vice Chancellor - Chair
MacGregor, Carol Ann	Vice President Academic and Dean - Vice Chair
Austen, Veronica	Associate Dean
Atkin, Michelle	Associate Librarian
Chaffe, Melissa	Director, Student Affairs (non-voting)
Dattani, Armaan	Manager, Outreach and Recruitment (non-voting)
Radcliffe, Karen	Director, Finance and Accounting (non-voting)
Moreno Tanaka, Ariana	One Executive Officer of the Students’ Union appointed by the Students' Union Executive
Vacant	University of Waterloo Faculty Member (non-voting)

Elected Members

Name	Title
Ursella, Alessia	Contract Academic Staff member elected by/for the Contract Academic Staff
TBA	Student member elected by/for students registered at St. Jerome's University

Recording Secretary

Name	Title
Schwendinger, Christine	Academic Operations Manager

Committees

Senate Council Committees

The St. Jerome's University Senate Council Standing Committees for 2025-2026 are as follows:

Governance Committee

Kieran Bonner (to August 31, 2026)
Carlie Leroux-Demir (to August 31, 2028)
Carol Ann MacGregor (Vice President Academic and Dean; ex officio)
Peter Meehan (President and Vice Chancellor; ex officio)
Carl Rodrigue (to August 31, 2027)

Academic Committee

Carol Ann MacGregor, Chair (Vice President Academic and Dean; ex officio)
Carol Acton (Director, Health Humanities; ex officio)
John Arnou (Student Advisor; ex officio; non-voting)
Michelle Atkin (Associate Librarian; ex officio)
Veronica Austen (Associate Dean; ex officio)
Steven Bednarski (Co-Director, Medieval Studies; ex officio)
Roberta Cauchi-Santoro (Chair, Italian and French Studies; ex officio)
Melissa Chaffe (Director, Student Affairs; ex officio; non-voting)
Armaan Dattani (Manager of Outreach and Recruitment; ex officio; non-voting)
Fred Desroches (Acting Chair, Sociology and Legal Studies; ex officio)
Scott Kline (Acting Director, Master of Catholic Thought; ex officio; to December 31, 2025)
Ariana Moreno Tanaka (Student Representative; ex officio; non-voting)
John Rempel (Chair, Psychology; ex officio)
David Seljak (Acting Chair, Religious Studies; ex officio; to December 31, 2025)
Toni Serafini (Chair, Sexualities, Relationships, and Families; ex officio)
Ryan Touhey (Chair, History; ex officio)
David Williams (Chair, English; ex officio)
Nikolaj Zunic (Chair, Philosophy; ex officio)
TBA (2nd Student Representative; ex officio; non-voting)

Research Officer

David Williams (to August 31, 2027)

Committee on Research and Scholarship

David Williams, Chair (Research Officer; ex officio)
Carol Acton (to August 31, 2026)
Carol Ann MacGregor (Vice President Academic and Dean; ex officio)
Fred Desroches (to August 31, 2026)
Siobhan Sutherland (to August 31, 2027)
Sylvia Terzian (to August 31, 2026; on leave)

Library Advisory Committee

Michelle Atkin, Chair (Associate Librarian; ex officio)
Carol Acton (to August 31, 2027)
Veronica Austen (to August 31, 2026)
Laureen Harder-Gissing (Conrad Grebel University College Librarian)
Sandra Keys (University of Waterloo Librarian)
Sylvia Terzian (to August 31, 2026; on leave)

Renewal, Tenure, and Promotions Committee

Carol Ann MacGregor, Chair (Vice President Academic and Dean; ex officio)
David Seljak (to June 30, 2027)
Anastasia Tataryn (to June 30, 2026)
Bruno Tremblay (to June 30, 2028)
Appointed member from the corresponding University of Waterloo department
Alternate: Nikolaj Zunic (to December 31, 2026)

Meetings, Agendas and Minutes

2025-2026 Senate Council Meetings

Fridays, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Meetings will be held in person.

Meeting Date	Meeting Agenda	Approved Meeting Minutes
September 26, 2025
October 24, 2025
November 28, 2025	Cancelled
January 23, 2026
February 27, 2026
March 27, 2026
April 24, 2026
May 22, 2026
June 19, 2026

2024-2025 Senate Council Meetings