Presidential Search (Principles)

Presidential Search (Principles)

Legislative History:

Approved by Senate: 2005/03/25; Approved by the Board of Governors: 2005/05

Approval Authority: Board of Governors and Senate

Signature: Marshall Cohen


Principles Governing a Presidential Search

  1. The search process itself should ensure a very broad pool of highly qualified potential candidates.
  2. The process should be as short as possible consistent with placing appropriate notices of the vacancy, and with a rigorous consideration of the candidates.
  3. The process should include broad and extensive consultations with the York community about the University's strategic needs in the following five to ten year period and about the attributes which the new president should possess to meet those needs.  Senate’s advice to the search committee shall be based on focused discussion by Senators in committee of the whole and in key Senate committees. Senate Executive shall be responsible for preparing an advisory statement on the criteria which will be submitted to Senate for approval prior to transmittal to the search committee.
  4. Taking into account the inputs from the community the search committee shall set the criteria for the search and desirable qualities of the candidates.  The criteria shall be communicated by the committee to the Board of Governors and Senate, and thereafter distributed widely in the university community.  All Senators, Governors and members of the community at large will be invited to suggest the names of candidates.
  5. The documents and deliberations of the search committee should remain confidential but the search committee shall ensure consistent and meaningful communications to the community about the process as it unfolds.
  6. The search committee should consider the use of search consultants.
  7. The search committee should consist of 14 full voting members:
    • 7 members nominated by the Board of Governors, one of whom shall chair, one of whom shall be an alumnus / alumna of the University, and one of whom shall be a non-academic staff member
    • 7 members nominated by Senate following election by Senate, including 5 faculty members, 1 undergraduate student and 1 graduate student
  8. The search committee shall strive for unanimity. Agreement by a special majority of 10 members of the search committee is necessary in order for a candidate to be recommended to the Board of Governors.  In addition to this requirement, 5 of the 7 Board nominees and 5 of the 7 Senate nominees must approve the recommendation.
  9. The Board will consider the candidate put forward. If the Board does not appoint the candidate recommended, it shall ask the search committee to present a second acceptable candidate. If there is no recommendation of a second acceptable candidate the search shall be deemed to be failed and the process shall be repeated.