On June 23, 2016, the Governing Council of the University of Toronto approved the Policy on Open, Accessible, and Democratic Autonomous Student Organizations. 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 — 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 Complaint and Resolution Council for Student Societies (CRCSS) under the Policy. The Office of Appeals, Discipline, and Faculty Grievances (ADFG) will again, this year, facilitate a nomination process. The Office of Appeals, Discipline, and Faculty Grievances assists in administering the University’s internal quasi-judicial processes, and is neutral in its function.

Please note that the current Chair of the CRCSS, Mr. Marshall Schnapp, is eligible for reappointment.

Process

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 are required to complete and submit a nomination form. Each form, when submitted, will be sent directly to me, and will be considered in confidence.

If a nominee is being nominated by someone else, the nominee is not required to submit a cover letter, as the Nominator is responsible for sending a letter of support. Before nominating someone else, you should first notify that person to ensure they are willing to accept the nomination. For self-nominations, a cover letter is required and can be attached to the form. All forms and letters are due by Friday, April 13.

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 either 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, 2018 to June 30, 2020. As this is a fairly new role, the expected time commitment cannot be predicted in advance.

Similar to last year, a shortlist of nominees based on the qualifications as outlined will be forwarded to the Striking Committee of the University Affairs Board for consideration. Depending on the number and qualifications of those nominated, the goal is to forward at least one nominee from each constituency to the Striking Committee. From this list, a 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 13 – Nominations Due
• End of April – Short List Created
• Mid-May – Striking Committee Decides Which Nominee(s) to Forward and Recommend to the University Affairs Board
• May 24 – Chair is Chosen by the University Affairs Board

Any questions or concerns should be directed to:

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