1. Interpretation
In this Procedure, the terms “faculty” and “faculties” include the Telfer School of Management and each of the Sections of the Faculty of Law.
2. Appointment
2.1 Appointing Authority
A Dean is appointed by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors (“Executive Committee”) on the recommendation of the President.
2.2. Term of Office
A Dean’s term of office shall be five years, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Committee on the recommendation of the President.
3. Re-appointment or Engagement of Regular Appointment Procedure
3.1 Consultation in Anticipation of End of Term of Office
At least one year before the end of a Dean’s term of office, the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall consult with the incumbent to ascertain whether he or she wishes to seek re-appointment.
3.2 Re-appointment for a Second Term of Office
3.2.1 Consultations on Potential Re-appointment for a Second Term of Office
If the incumbent wishes to seek re-appointment for a second term of office, the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall invite the regular professors and permanent support staff of the subject faculty, the student members of the subject faculty council, and such other members of the University community as the President or Vice-President Academic and Provost may consider appropriate to provide written comments, in strictest confidence, regarding the incumbent’s potential re-appointment.
3.2.2 Recommendation to Re-appoint for a Second Term of Office
Once the consultations under subsection 3.2.1 above are complete, the President shall either report the results of the consultations and recommend to the Executive Committee that the incumbent be re-appointed for a second term of office, or engage the regular appointment procedure set out in section 4 below.
3.2.3 Decision Regarding Re-appointment for a Second Term of Office
If the President recommends re-appointment of the incumbent for a second term of office, the Executive Committee shall decide whether to (a) re-appoint the incumbent for a second term of office; (b) decline to re-appoint the incumbent; or (c) require that the incumbent’s candidacy for a second term of office be considered under the regular appointment procedure set out in section 4 below. If the Executive Committee decides to re-appoint the incumbent, the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall take the necessary steps to inform the incumbent and the University community of the incumbent’s re-appointment.
3.3 Engagement of Regular Appointment Procedure
The President or, at the President’s request, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall engage the regular appointment procedure set out in section 4 below in any of the following circumstances:
(a) the incumbent does not seek re-appointment;
(b) the incumbent seeks re-appointment for a third or subsequent term of office;
(c) the President does not recommend, under subsection 3.2.2 above, that the incumbent be re-appointed by the Executive Committee for a second term of office;
(d) the Executive Committee declines, under subsection 3.2.3 above, to re-appoint the incumbent for a second term of office; or
(e) the Executive Committee requires, under subsection 3.2.3 above, that the incumbent’s candidacy for a second term of office be considered under the regular appointment procedure.
4. Regular Appointment Procedure
4.1 Selection Committee
4.1.1 Establishment and Role
To assist the President in recommending to the Executive Committee the most suitable candidate for appointment as a Dean, the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall establish a selection committee (“committee”).
4.1.2 Membership
The committee, whose membership shall be balanced between men and women and reflect, to the extent possible, Ontario’s diversity, shall consist of:
- the President;
- the Vice-President, Academic and Provost, who shall serve as Chair unless the President assumes that role;
- the Vice-President, Research;
- one Dean of a faculty other than the subject faculty, appointed by the Joint Committee of the Senate and the Board of Governors (“Joint Committee”) on the recommendation of the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost;
- two regular associate or full professors without major administrative appointments, each from different units or programs within the subject faculty (where applicable), elected by the subject faculty council; or, where the subject faculty is the Faculty of Medicine, four associate or full professors without major administrative appointments, including one APUO member and three geographic full-time members of different clinical departments, elected in accordance with the selection procedure for members of professors’ committees in the Faculty of Medicine;
- one regular associate or full professor at the University of Ottawa who is not a member of the subject faculty, appointed by the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost;
- two full-time students registered in the subject faculty, one undergraduate and one graduate, elected by the subject faculty council (provided that, in the case of the Faculty of Medicine, the undergraduate student position may be held by a medical resident);
- one permanent member of the support staff of the subject faculty, elected by the subject faculty council;
- where the subject faculty is a professional faculty, one person from outside the University who is a member of the relevant profession, appointed by the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost;
- up to two additional members appointed by the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost, if deemed necessary by the President to ensure the committee’s diversity or representation of key stakeholder groups.
- In no case shall a Dean, Vice-Dean or Associate Dean of the faculty in question be named to the selection committee.
4.1.3 Withdrawal of Committee Member(s)
The committee shall not cease to function by reason only of withdrawal by one or more of its members, unless the effect of such withdrawal(s) is to reduce its membership to less than half its original size. If a member withdraws, the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall decide, in light of the remaining number of committee members and the state of the committee’s work, whether to replace the withdrawing member. Should the President or Vice-President Academic and Provost (as the case may be) decide to replace the withdrawing member, the replacement member shall be appointed or elected in the same manner as the withdrawing member.
4.1.4 Quorum
A majority of members constitutes a quorum.
4.1.5 Meetings
The committee shall meet at the call of its Chair. Committee meetings shall be held in camera and in confidence. Minutes shall be strictly confidential and kept sealed in the Office of the committee Chair.
4.2 Position Profile and Criteria
The committee Chair shall consult the regular professors and permanent support staff of the subject faculty, as well as the student members of the subject faculty council, on the qualities, qualifications, attributes and experience required of the Dean to be appointed. Comments received in the course of this consultation process shall remain strictly confidential. The committee shall take these comments into account in developing a position profile. The position profile shall include criteria that will guide the committee in recommending a candidate.
4.3 Identification of Potential Candidates
The committee Chair shall invite the regular professors, permanent support staff and student association(s) of the subject faculty, as well as student members of the subject faculty council, to propose potential candidates, whether internal or external, for the position of Dean. Where the subject faculty is the Faculty of Medicine, the committee Chair shall also invite the faculty members of the clinical departments and the President and Chief Executive Officer of each of the teaching hospitals to propose potential candidates.
The committee may also use means it deems appropriate (including the services of external search experts) to identify potential candidates itself.
The committee shall ascertain whether potential candidates who meet the requirements of the position are willing to be considered for the position.
4.4 Short List, Interviews and Faculty Meetings
Once the search for potential candidates is complete, the committee shall analyze the list of candidates, draw from it a short list of candidates to interview, and conduct such interviews. In light of the interviews, the committee shall decide which of the shortlisted candidates (the “retained candidates”) shall be invited to meet with the executive committee (excluding the current Dean), the regular professors and the permanent support staff of the subject faculty, as well as the student members of the subject faculty council. Such faculty meetings with retained candidates shall be organized by the subject faculty.
4.5 Faculty Consultations
Following the faculty meetings held under subsection 4.4 above, the committee Chair shall consult the members (including student members) of the subject faculty council, as well as the regular professors and the permanent support staff of the subject faculty, regarding the retained candidates. Where the subject faculty is the Faculty of Medicine, the committee Chair shall also consult the faculty members of the clinical departments and the President and Chief Executive Officer of each of the teaching hospitals. These faculty consultations shall be in writing and may include the distribution or collection of reports, surveys or other types of performance evaluation. Each person responding to these consultations shall be requested to list the names of the retained candidates in order of preference, add comments if desired and submit his or her comments to the committee Chair in confidence. Without disclosing the identity of respondents, the committee Chair shall provide a summary of the results of these consultations to the committee.
4.6 Committee Recommendation
Following consideration of the results of the faculty consultations provided for in subsection 4.5 above, the committee shall either recommend a candidate to the President or decide that it is unable to recommend any candidate. If the committee recommends a candidate, the committee’s mandate is fulfilled and its work shall come to an end. If the committee decides that it is unable to recommend any candidate, the President shall decide, in consultation with the committee, either to have the committee recommence the search for potential candidates or to terminate the committee’s mandate. In the latter case, the procedure for an interim appointment set out in section 5 below shall apply.
4.7 President’s Report and Recommendation to the Executive Committee
If the committee recommends a candidate under subsection 4.6 above, the President shall report in confidence to the Executive Committee on the committee’s activities and its recommendation. The President shall also make his or her own recommendation, in confidence, to the Executive Committee.
4.8 Appointment
The Executive Committee shall decide whether to make the appointment recommended by the President (if any). If the Executive Committee makes the appointment recommended by the President, the President or, at the request of the President, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall take the necessary steps to inform all the candidates, the subject faculty, and the University community of the appointment. If the Executive Committee declines to make the appointment recommended by the President, the procedure for an interim appointment set out in section 5 below shall apply.
5. Interim Appointment Procedure
5.1 Application of Interim Appointment Procedure
The procedure established in this section shall apply where:
- a committee decides, under subsection 4.6 above, that it is unable to recommend any candidate and the President decides to terminate that committee’s mandate;
- the President does not recommend, under subsection 4.7 above, the appointment of the candidate recommended by the committee;
- the Executive Committee declines, under subsection 4.8 above, to make the appointment recommended by the President;
- a regular appointment procedure under section 4 above has been engaged but, in the President’s judgment, is unlikely to be completed before the end of the incumbent Dean’s term of office, and it is necessary to fill the position on an interim basis between the end of that term and completion of that procedure; or
- the position of a Dean becomes effectively vacant due to incapacity, resignation or any other circumstance and, in the judgment of the President, it is necessary to fill the position on an interim basis pending the return to duties of the incumbent or the appointment of a new Dean pursuant to the regular appointment procedure set out in section 4 above.
5.2 President or Vice-President Academic and Provost to Identify Interim Candidate
The President or, at the President’s request, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall, through means he or she deems appropriate, identify a candidate who in the President’s judgment meets the requirements of the position to be filled and who is willing to serve in the position for an interim period.
5.3 Faculty Consultation on Interim Candidate
The President or, at the President’s request, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall invite the members (including student members) of the subject faculty council, the regular professors and permanent support staff of the subject faculty, and such other members of the University community as the President or Vice-President Academic and Provost may consider appropriate, to provide written comments, in strictest confidence, regarding the interim candidate identified by the President or Vice-President Academic and Provost (as the case may be).
5.4 President’s Report and Recommendation to Executive Committee on Interim Appointment
The President shall, in confidence, report the results of the consultations on the interim candidate, and shall make his or her recommendation regarding the interim appointment, to the Executive Committee.
5.5 Interim Appointment
The Executive Committee shall decide whether to make the interim appointment recommended by the President. If the Executive Committee makes the interim appointment recommended by the President, the President or, at the President’s request, the Vice-President Academic and Provost shall take the necessary steps to inform the candidate, the subject faculty and the University community of the interim appointment. If the Executive Committee declines to make the interim appointment recommended by the President, the procedure under this section shall recommence.
6. Confidentiality
Selection committee proceedings shall remain strictly confidential. All documents in whatever form produced, received or used in connection with committee deliberations and consultations, the committee Chair’s or President’s consultations of members of the University community, or the President’s reports to the Executive Committee, shall remain strictly confidential and shall be retained in accordance with the University’s records retention schedule and applicable regulations. All non-documentary information produced, received or used in connection with committee deliberations and consultations, the committee Chair’s or President’s consultations of members of the University community, or the President’s reports to the Executive Committee, shall also remain strictly confidential.
For greater certainty, the confidentiality provisions of this section shall apply to the re-appointment, regular and interim appointment procedures set out in sections 3-5 above.
7. Exceptions and Amendments
Exceptions or amendments to this Procedure shall require the approval of the Joint Committee of the Senate and the Board of Governors.
Approved by the Joint Committee of the Senate and the Board of Governors on December 21, 2017.