(Approved by AFC, March 20, 2001)

a) Selection Committees will be composed of at least three voting members and the Chair. Selection committees are Chaired by the Dean of Arts or designate.The Dean is responsible for ensuring adherence to Articles 7 and 30 of the Collective Agreement and may vote on matters before the selection committee only in the case of a tie vote.

b) Selection committees will normally include all continuing members of the department/program (e.g. tenured members, tenurable members, members holding endowed chairs, instructional associates, members holding term positions whose contract at initial appointment exceeds one academic year). Department members on sabbatical leave may participate in the hiring process in a manner consistent with Article 20.43 of the Collective Agreement.

c) After determining the number of department/program members available/ eligible to serve as voting members on the selection committee, the Dean will forward a request for nominations to AFC Nominations Committee based upon the following requirements:

• Where there are no available/eligible department/program members five nominations will be sought
• Where there is one available/eligible department/program member two nominations will be sought
• Where there are two available/eligible department members one nomination will be sought
• Where there are three or four available/eligible department members nominations will be sought sufficient to establish a five person committee (exclusive of the Chair)
• Where available/eligible department members are five or more, two additional nominations will be sought

d) In constituting selection committees, the spirit and letter of Article 30 of the Collective Agreement will be adhered to. All selection committees will include at least one voting member who is female and one who is male. Selection committees with five or more members normally will include a minimum of two voting members who are female.

e) Members shall not serve as non-departmental members on selection committees for more than one department in any one academic year (e.g. serving as the non-departmental member for two selection committees in one department is permitted).

f) Members who are in a conflict of interest shall resign from the selection committee. Bearing in mind Article 30, its obligations to all applicants and the point in the selection process where the resignation from the committee occurred, the Selection Committee shall determine if the member who resigned is to be replaced. This determination shall be established by a simple majority vote of the committee members. Normally, only non-departmental members of the selection committee will be replaced.

g) The Dean will request letters of reference for all applicants whose application satisfies the advertised requirements for the position.

h) Once individual members of the selection committee have reviewed applicants’ dossiers, the committee will meet to determine a shortlist of candidates. Should a candidate be short-listed for whom letters of reference have not been requested pursuant to g), the Dean will request that the letters be provided. Taking into account budgetary constraints, the number of candidates to be interviewed will be determined by the Dean in consultation with the selection committee.

i) The selection committee shall establish a series of questions appropriate for the position that will be directed to each candidate during the interview process. While each candidate will be asked the questions established by the selection committee, members of the selection committee may pose additional questions for the purpose of clarification and expansion.

j) During the interview process, all candidates will:

• Present a lecture that demonstrates both their teaching skill and/or area of research. This lecture will be open to members of the university community.
• Be interviewed by the selection committee.
• Meet with the Faculty of Arts BUFA representative or alternate as selected by the Faculty Union.
• Meet with the Dean and be provided with a copy of the C.A. and the current university undergraduate and/or graduate calendar.

Normally, this process will proceed in the order identified above.

Selection committees may approve additional requirements to this process.

k) Students and faculty attending public lectures will be invited to submit written comments. These comments, when signed, shall form a part of the evidence considered by the selection committee. Additionally, students will be invited to contribute less formally to the selection process if they wish by sharing their comments verbally with members of the selection committee. In the case of the Department of Rural Development, at the Department’s request, an MRD/DRD graduate student selected by students may be added as a full voting member of the selection committee.

l) The selection committee then meets, votes and makes a formal recommendation to the Dean.