Call for Nominations — Chair, Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies (PDAD&C #34)

From: Christopher Lang, Director, Office of Appeals, Discipline, and Faculty Grievances
Date: April 5, 2024
Re: Call for Nominations — Chair, Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies (PDAD&C #34)

On June 23, 2016, the Governing Council of the University of Toronto approved the policy titled Policy on Open, Accessible and Democratic Autonomous Student Organizations (“Policy”). The Policy was the result of more than two years of consultation and confirms the principle of the autonomy of campus groups and student societies, describes principles to guide their open, accessible and democratic functioning, and establishes a complaint and resolution process to respond to conflicts that cannot be resolved at the society level. This process includes a Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies (“CRCSS”) — a forum to resolve disputes between students and the societies that represent them.

Section B outlines the complaint and resolution process, including information about the Chair.  Specifically, section B.II states:

The CRCSS Chair will be a University of Toronto faculty, staff or alumni member appointed by the University Affairs Board on the recommendation of the University Affairs Board Striking Committee with experience in dispute resolution. The Chair of the CRCSS shall be appointed for a term of two years and may be re-appointed. The term shall begin on July 1.

I write regarding the nomination process for selecting the Chair of the CRCSS under the Policy. The Office of Appeals, Discipline and Faculty Grievances (“ADFG Office”) will again, this year, facilitate a nomination process.  The ADFG Office assists in administering the University’s internal quasi-judicial processes and is neutral in its function. 

Process

Unlike past years, if there are enough qualified nominees, there will be recommendations for the Chair as well as for up to two alternate chairs, should the Chair identify a conflict or be unable to assist with a case.  All requirements that apply to the Chair would also apply to the alternate chairs. I strongly encourage you to consider either nominating someone or forwarding this letter and form to others who might consider being nominated.  Self-nominations are welcome.  Both self-nominees and those nominated by others will be required to complete and submit a nomination form electronically. If a nominee is being nominated by someone else (a “Nominator”), the nominee is not required to submit a cover letter or their CV, as the Nominator is responsible for sending these two documents directly to me at: christopher.lang@utoronto.ca.  For self-nominations, the nominee will email both a cover letter and CV directly to me at: christopher.lang@utoronto.ca.  Nomination forms once submitted will automatically be sent to me.  All of these documents will then be considered in confidence. 

All forms, CVs, and letters are due by Monday, April 22 at 5:00 p.m. EST. 

Please note: if you are nominating someone else, you should first notify that person to ensure they are willing to accept the nomination, as they will need to fill out the nomination form. 

Requirements

Nominees must have demonstrated experience in dispute resolution. Details of that experience, including the number of years the nominee has worked or volunteered in dispute resolution, should be outlined in the application form, cover letter and/or CV.  As per the Policy, the Chair must be a “University of Toronto faculty, staff or alumni member” and cannot be a University of Toronto student at any point during the term of appointment.  The term will run from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026.   The expected time commitment cannot be predicted in advance. 

Similar to past years, a shortlist of nominees will be created based on the qualifications as outlined above and will be forwarded to the Striking Committee of the University Affairs Board for consideration.  Depending on both the number of nominees and the qualifications of those nominated, the goal is to forward the name of at least one nominee from each constituency to the Striking Committee.  From this list, any recommended nominee(s) will be forwarded by the Striking Committee to the University Affairs Board for approval.  Only the individual(s) being recommended to the University Affairs Board for approval by the Striking Committee will be contacted by the Secretary of the University Affairs Board. 

Timeline

  • April 5 at 5 p.m. EST – Call for nominations
  • April 22 by 5:00 p.m. EST – Nominations are due
  • April 26 – ADFG Office creates short list of nominees for submission to the Striking Committee
  • May 13 – Striking Committee decides which nominee(s) to forward and recommend to the University Affairs Board
  • May 29 – Chair (and alternate chair(s)) are chosen by the University Affairs Board

Any questions should be directed to me at:

Christopher Lang
Director, Office of Appeals, Discipline, and Faculty Grievances
Office of the Governing Council
christopher.lang@utoronto.ca