James Chair

General Information

1. The university departments eligible to host a James Chair professor are: biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics and computing sciences, physics, psychology.
2. The appointees to the James Chair may be:
   • a generalist of stature in society at large and of mature reputation in one of the above disciplines who would be looked upon primarily as a teacher and public lecturer;
   • a noted scholar in one of the above disciplines who would be looked upon primarily as a public lecturer and researcher;
   • a very promising scholar who would be considered primarily as a researcher and senior honors course teacher;
   • members of the university faculty shall not normally be candidates for appointment to the James Chair.
3. The appointment to the James Chiar may be for any length of time to a maximum of five years.
4. The appointment of the James Chair professor shall be in a manner similar to that of an appointment to the regular faculty. Letters of invitation and appointment shall be sent by the Executive Vice President.
5. A statement describing the financial support paid to the James Chair professor shall accompany the letter of appointment. This statement, among other things, shall specify:
   • The salary and fringe benefits which are to be paid either directly to the appointee or to the permanent employer of the appointee;
   • relocation expenses;
   • other expenses incidental to the appointment which the James Chair professor may require to carry out his/her duties and responsibilities specificed in the letter of appointment.
6. The James Chair professor must be prepared to give consideration to the following duties:
   • public general lectures, approximately three per year;
   • more specialized lectures to the university community, approximately three per year;
   • the teaching of university undergraduates to a maximum of one course or seminar;
   • close interaction with faculty and senior students.
7. Nominations to the James Chair may originate from hosting departments or from any member of the university community. In the latter case the nominations must be made to the chairperson of the hosting department and must be accompanied by a statement containing:
   • the reasons for the nomination;
   • a budgetary allowance for the items mentioned in No. 5.
8. The Executive Vice President shall inform all hosting departments of the monies available for the James Chair in any particular years.
9. The selection of a candidate for the James Chair shall proceed according to the following sequence:
   • departmental nominations are to be made in writing to the Executive Vice-President normally ten months before the suggested beginning of tenure;
   • a committee composed of the Executive Vice-President as chairman, Dean of Arts and Dean of Science, and three faculty members appointed by the President, shall be established to rank the candidates in priority order. The committee shall seek the advice of external referees when appropriate;
   • upon confirmation of the academic stature of the candidate the chairman shall initiate negotiations with the candidate. If the first-ranked candidate is unable to accept the invitation, the selection process is to be begin agian with candidate No. 2, unless other nominations have been made in the interim. In this latter case the selection process shall begin from the beginning.

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