Subject
..........................................................
January 25, 1968
Date
....................................................................................................
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
- A
*
Paper S-97
M
•
Secretary of Senate
John Matthews
From..............
Dean of Faculty of Arts
In accordance with the decision of Senate at Its meeting of
January 8 and in accordance with Section 63 (b) of the Universities Act
the following resolutions of the Faculty of Arts are submitted for the
approval of Senate..
I. That the Dean of the Arts Faculty be elected by Faculty for a limited
term, the method of
S election to be
decided
by Faculty.
2.
That the Dean be elected directly by the members.
3.
That any member of faculty be eligible for the office of the Dean.
4.
That the term of office be two years and that a retiring Dean has the
right to seek re-election.
In accordance with Section 46(d) of the Universities Act the
above resolutions of Faculty, Including the previous resolution passed
upon at the last meeting of Senate, will be submitted, subject to the
approval of Senate
1
as recommendations to the Board of Governors.
At a meeting of the Arts Faculty on January 25, $968, a
motINçegardIn9 the position of Associate Dean was tabled.
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JM:els
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cc. Chairman of Senate
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January of Arts
1
Office of the Dean
anuary 30, 968
Subioct.......................................................................................................................
.Date............................................................................................
OPINION POLL--OFFICE OF THE DEAN
Preamble
The following Faculty resolutions have been submitted to Senate
for approval. These will be on the agenda for the Senate meeting of
February 5, 1968.
I. That the Dean of the Arts Faculty be elected by Faculty for a limited
term, the method of election to be decided by Faculty.
2.
That the Dean be elected directly by the members.
3.
That any member of Faculty be eligible for the office of the Dean.
4.
That the term of office be two years and that a retiring Dean has
the right to seek re-election.
At the special meeting of Faculty called for 12:30 on January 25,
twenty-seven members being present, certain questions and reservations were
raised concerning the above resolutions. It was agreed that in order to aid
Senate's deliberations on the Faculty's resolutions, and to anticipate comments
that will be certain to arise there, a full canvass of Faculty should be
undertaken.
You are therefore invited to complete the attached questionnaire, some
explanation of which follows directly below.
This is not a referendum. It Is an expression of opinion only.
Completed forms should be returned in the envelope provided to the
Dean of the Faculty of Arts, AQ 5052, if possible not later than 12 noon on
Monday, February 5.
Some Comments on the Questions
I. Questions la, lb, Ic; on qualifications of the Dean. Several
ambiguities were seen to exist In the idea of the Dean being a "member of"
Faculty. Do these resolutions mean any member of Faculty, any tenured member,
or any member of Faculty of some particular rank?
The reasoning behind..the.Faculty resolution (No.3 above) was
that a bar by rank would be invidious, and was unnecessary since It was
extremely unlikely a junior member would be elected unless indeed he or she
were an exceptional person.
Opinion is fairly widespread that the Dean must be a person of
secure position within the Faculty In order to exercise effective power on
Its behalf. This Is so since, while his prime duty Is service to the Faculty,
at times the various roles of his office may conflict.
For example he should
2.
have, if possible, the
He must give leadershi1
wishes. He must, with
university growth, yet
departments. He must,
them with distinction.
confidence of the President as well as of the Faculty.
, to the Faculty and at the same time comply with its
the other Deans, keep In mind principles of general
be able to secure resources judged necessary by Arts
In short, be able to balance many Interests and represent
These matters raise questions of the security of the Dean's position
(as reflected in tenure), his academic prestige (as reflected in rank) and his
acceptability to the persons and groups with which he must work most Intimately.
2. Questions 2a, 2b;
on origin of candidates. Whereas It is understood
that the Dean will be a member of Faculty, do these resolutions mean that
Faculty may not reach outside Itself and the University to select a Dean?
It has been observed that candidates for the Deanship are rare enough
at present, and may become vanishingly scarce. It may prove both necessary and
desirable to find the Dean outside our own ranks.
But if so, the selection
process becomes again a question.
3.
Question 3; on term of office. The resolution states clearly that a
two-year term, with
—
re-election possible, shall be the Dean's term of office.
•
This matter Is Important because it could relate to the Dean's
effectiveness. A longer term of office could add both to his expertise visa
vis his dealings with other Faculties and the administration and to the
continuity of Faculty-'administration. The Duff-Berdahl report recommends a
five-year term.
Contrary opinion is that while a faculty member would find a two-
year term acceptable, it might be difficult to find someone willing to forego
his scholarly pursuits for longer than that. And, In any case, re-election Is
possible.
4.
A proposal relevant to these matters (presently tabled before Faculty),
concerns the election by Faculty of a council of four to consult with and advise
the Dean. it is possl.ble that the idea of such a council might enable members
of Faculty more easily to define their opinions on certain of the more
difficult choices Involved In the structure of the Deanship Itself.
is
JM:ets
end.
FACULTY OF ARTS QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE DEANSHIP
[To be completed and returned in the enclosed envelope to the Office of the Dean
by. 12 noon Monday, February
5,
1968,1f possible]
Check [it'] In square opposite your choice.
I. a. Should the Dean have tenure?
yes
no
b.
Should nomination be open for: any member of Faculty
Assistant Professor and above
Associate Professor and above
Full Professor only
c.
Before appointment, and provisions of the Universities Act notwfth-
standing, do you think that a candidate for the Deanship ought be
be formally accepted by one or more of the following:
Faculty members collectively
The
Heads
President
of Arts Departments collectively
JJ
fJ
Other parties (specify)____________________
2. a.
Should Faculty be able to reach outside Its own ranks for a Dean?
yes
EJ
no
•
b' if yes, what method of selection do you prefer?
Committee
Selection by
elected
Arts Heads
by Faculty
tJ
A
Selection
committee
by
representative
President
of the above three
D
Other (please
specify)__________________________
3.
Should the Dean's term of service be: one year
two years
three years
four years
five years
D
unspecified term
4.
Do you approve the Idea of a four-member advisory council to the Dean
elected by Faculty?
yes
E j
noEj