Presidential Search Committee Terms of Reference – February 26, 2018

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Presidential Search Committee

Terms of Reference

Purpose

The purpose of the Presidential Search Committee (“the Committee”) is to conduct a search for a
President of the University, evaluate candidates and recommend a candidate to the Board of
Governors of Mount Royal University (“the Board”) in accordance with any conditions imposed by
the Board.

Responsibilities

a. The Committee shall develop and conduct its own process for the search and selection of a

suitable candidate for the position of the President of the University.

b. The Committee shall solicit the views of the representatives of all the Mount Royal

constituencies (i.e., the Board, members of the President’s Executive Committee (PEC),
faculty, students, support staff, managers and senior officers) regarding criteria for the selection
of candidates. The Committee shall also seek the views of the General Faculties Council
regarding criteria for the selection of candidates.

c. The Committee shall recommend a position profile and criteria for the selection of candidates

to the Board for approval, and the approved position profile and criteria shall be made public in
the Mount Royal community.

d. The Committee may retain and oversee the work of an executive recruitment consultant to

assist in the search for a President of the University.

e. The Committee, with the assistance of the consultant if one is retained, shall invite nominations

and applications for the vacancy internationally.

The Committee, with the assistance of the consultant if one is retained, shall establish an
acceptable long list of candidates.

g. The Committee shall shorten the list of candidates to the prime finalists and, in accordance

with the process that is agreed upon at the outset of the search, rank the desirable candidates
on the short list, prepare a report and present the name of one candidate for appointment as
President to the Board.

h. The Chair of the Committee shall act as spokesperson for the Committee and ensure that there

are regular updates provided to the Board.

The Committee is advisory to the Board.

Presidential Search Committee Terms of Reference – February 26, 2018

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Membership

a. Voting Members:

Chair of the Board as the Chair of the Committee;

ii.

Vice-Chair of the Board as Vice-Chair of the Committee;

iii.

three additional public members of the Board (serving as a member on the Board
Human Resources Committee or the Board Governance Committee), appointed by the
Board Chair;

iv.

the  faculty  member of the Board (serving on the Board when the committee is
established);

the student member of the Board (serving on the Board when the committee is
established);

vi.

the staff member of the Board (serving on the Board when the committee is
established);

vii.

GFC Faculty Councillor (serving as a member on the GFC Executive Committee),
appointed by GFC;

viii.

Chair, Chairs’ Assembly;

ix.

two members of the University Strategic Council (USC), one of whom shall be a
member of Deans’ Council, selected by USC;

Vice-President, University Advancement;

xi.

one additional member of the President’s Executive Committee (PEC), selected by
PEC.

b. The Board reserves the right to appoint one additional member-at-large if it is deemed

appropriate.

c. If a Board member’s term on the Board expires during the search process, the member shall

remain on the committee until the completion of the search process.

d. Appointment of each person to the Committee, as defined above, shall be conditional on their

agreement to maintain in confidence all of the information discussed by the Committee and to
exercise their authority and responsibility as an individual in order that decisions may be taken
at the time and place of the Committee meetings.

e. If any member of the Committee becomes, or seeks to become, a candidate for the Office of

President, they shall resign from the Committee.

If the association of any members of the Committee with the University, as defined above, is
terminated or in any way significantly altered (with the exception of b. above), or if for any
reason any member is unable to carry out their responsibilities on the Committee, as defined
herein, the Committee may request that the Board Chair arrange to replace them with another
member of the constituent group.

Presidential Search Committee Terms of Reference – February 26, 2018

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Resources (non-voting)

The University Secretary, or delegate, shall serve as Secretary to the Committee.

The Associate Vice-President of Human Resources, or designate, shall serve as a resource to the
Committee.

Meetings

a. Meetings of the Committee shall be held at the call of the Chair.

b. The Vice-Chair will carry out any or all of the Chair’s responsibilities at the request of the Chair

or in the event that the Chair is absent or unable to carry out their responsibilities, and will have
those additional powers and duties assigned by the Chair from time to time.

c. All meetings of the Committee will be held in camera and the University Secretary, or delegate,

shall attend all meetings.

d. Formal motions put forth by a member of the Committee shall be carried or defeated by simple

majority vote. There shall be no provision for abstentions from voting, and the Chair shall vote
on all motions.

e. All members of the Committee, including the Chair, shall vote on the recommendation to the

Board of candidates for appointment as President.

Quorum

Quorum for Committee meetings shall consist of ten (10) members of the Committee being present
in person, by teleconference or by video conference, and must include either the Chair or the Vice-
Chair of the Board.

There shall be no provision for proxies, substitutes or alternates. In the event that repeated
absences hinder the work of the Committee in the opinion of the Chair, the Chair shall recommend
replacement of particular Committee members to the Board.

Confidentiality

All discussions regarding the search and appointment of a President, whether in Committee or at
the Board, shall be carried out in confidence.

Information regarding applicants, potential applicants and interviews shall remain confidential to
the Committee, the Board and others as determined appropriate by the Committee.

Records

The records of the Committee’s decisions shall be maintained by the Office of Governance and
Legal Services in the form of correspondence related to those decisions, legal documents, and/or
minutes of meetings as appropriate. At the conclusion of the process, individual committee
members will be required to destroy all notes and documents they have accumulated during the
search process.