Policy on College Fellowship

TRINITY COLLEGE’S POLICY ON COLLEGE FELLOWSHIP

1.  College Fellows

The Fellows of Trinity College shall be, and shall be limited to, the following persons:

  1. Contractual Fellows: Full-time members of the academic staffon a College contract;
  2. Non-contractual Fellows: (a) Persons other than contractual Fellows who are Fellows pursuant to the provisions of the College’s Statutes in force prior to April 13, 2000, and (b) persons who have held the status of Associate of Trinity College for at least two years subsequent to July 1, 1999 and who have been appointed as Fellows.

(Cf. Section 10.3.3 of the Statutes and Regulations.)

2.  Appointment Policy:
  1. The main criteria for new Fellows, both contractual and non-contractual, shall be their academic calibre and their willingness and availability actively to fulfil their role as Fellows. These two criteria shall be given equal weighting in the appointment of Fellows. The academic calibre of Fellowship candidates shall be assessed as follows: (a) on the basis of teaching and research in the case of candidates whose academic duties include both teaching and research; (b) entirely on the basis of teaching in the case of candidates whose academic duties include teaching but not research; (c) entirely on the basis of research in the case of candidates whose academic duties include research but not teaching.
  2. The question of whether an individual with a status-only appointment at the University of Toronto shall be eligible for appointment as a Fellow of the College shall be decided on a case-by-case basis.
  3. The complement of Fellows shall be between 60 and 90.
  4. There should be an appropriate generational spread among Fellows.
  5. The complement of non-contractual Fellows should broadly reflect the numbers of Trinity students across the disciplines of the University.
  6. Contractual Fellows become Fellows upon appointment as full-time members of the academic staff on a College contract.
  7. The various College bodies required to consider Fellowship appointments should bear in mind, when so doing, the College’s Mission Statement (October 2009), which reads: Trinity, a small, distinctive College at the heart of a great university, offers an exceptional academic experience and fosters community, responsibility, and leadership. 
3.  Procedures for appointment of non-contractual Fellows:
  1. The Academic Appointments Committee shall annually compile a list of those persons who have held the status of Associate of Trinity College for at least eighteen months, and shall in each case decide whether to consider the individual, subject to his or her consent, for appointment as a Fellow of Trinity College.
  2. The Academic Appointments Committee may, but need not, take it as given that each Associate whom it decides to consider for a Fellowship appointment, subject to his or her consent, satisfies the academic criterion for Fellowship, which criterion is the same as the academic criterion for new Associates. In such a case, the Committee will undertake to determine whether the Associate satisfies the remaining criterion for Fellowship, namely that of being willing and available actively to fulfil the role of a Fellow.
  3. To each Associate whom the Academic Appointments Committee decides to consider, subject to his or her consent, for a Fellowship appointment, the Dean of Arts shall write a letter requesting the individual to advise the Dean of Arts whether he or she is willing to be considered for such appointment.
  4. The Academic Appointments Committee shall not be required to treat as confidential the names of the Associates whom it considers for a Fellowship appointment, but shall not give the names wide publicity.
  5. In the case of each Associate who agrees to be considered for a Fellowship appointment, the Chair of the Academic Appointments Committee shall arrange for the individual to meet, either alone or with other Fellowship candidates, with at least two members of the Committee, who shall report on the meeting to the Chair of the Committee.
  6. The Chair of the Academic Appointments Committee shall refer to the Senate the names of such Associates as the Committee, with the support of at least six of its members, recommends for Fellowship appointments, and shall do so in time for the Senate to vote on the names in April.
  7. The names of individuals approved by the Senate shall be forwarded to the Board of Trustees for the approval of that body. The Board shall approve a non-contractual Fellowship appointment only on the recommendation of the Senate and shall withhold approval only for financial reasons of a noncontractual appointment recommended by the Senate. (Cf. Section 5.10.3 of the Statutes and Regulations). 
4.  Terms of appointment:
  1. The appointment of a contractual Fellow shall continue for the duration of his or her contractual association with the College.
  2. The appointment of a non-contractual Fellow who is a member of the teaching staff of the University of Toronto, or of a body federated or affiliated with the University of Toronto, shall continue for the duration of his or her teaching appointment, unless he or she resigns his or her Fellowship or unless the Senate asks him or her to resign, and so terminates, his or her Fellowship.
  3. The appointment of a non-contractual Fellow who is not a member of the teaching staff of the University of Toronto, or of a body federated or affiliated with the University of Toronto, but who is associated with the College academically as a teacher, shall continue for the duration of his or her academic association with the College, unless he or she resigns his or her Fellowship or unless the Senate asks him or her to resign, and so terminates, his or her Fellowship.
  4. The question of whether a non-contractual Fellow whose University of Toronto appointment changes from regular to status-only shall remain a Fellow shall be decided on a case-by-case basis. 
5.  Fellow Emeritus/a:

Upon retirement, a Fellow shall become a Fellow Emeritus/a of the College.

6.  Fellows’ obligations:
  1. All Fellows are expected to participate actively and on a regular basis in the life of the College. The form their participation will take will depend on their own particular interests and aptitudes.
  2. Participation may include the following:
    1. Counselling incoming students, advising students in an informal way or guiding them in the choice of a graduate or professional school.
    2. Serving on the Board of Trustees or on the Senate.
    3. Serving on committees of the Board of Trustees or of the Senate.
    4. Meeting with student societies or informal discussion groups.
    5. Attending Low Table nights (i.e., dining with students in Strachan Hall or Melinda Seaman Hall).
    6. Advising student publications.
    7. Assisting in College fund-raising.
    8. Providing services to alumni/ae in their College activities (e.g., speaking at alumni/ae events).
    9. Being available to administrative officers of the College for consultation.
    10. Teaching, or teaching in, a TRN course or a 199Y seminar course sponsored by Trinity, or teaching at Trinity a 199Y seminar course sponsored by the Fellow’s department.
7.  Fellows’ rights:
  1. Fellows will have a major responsibility for academic planning and policy.
  2. All Fellows shall be entitled to equal consideration when available office space is assigned, and all Fellows eligible for research and travel grants shall be entitled to equal consideration when such grants are awarded.
  3. Secretarial assistance, subject to availability, and word-processing facilities.
  4. Membership in the Senior Common Room, including dining privileges in Strachan Hall and St. Hilda’s.
  5. Provision of rooms for meetings and conferences, at a reduced rate when appropriate.
  6. Parking space as available.
8.  Facilities for Fellows:
  1. Efforts should be made to find some living accommodation for Fellows in the College, subject, of course, to the demand for the same.
  2. With the approval of the Dean of the appropriate Faculty, the College may offer office space to a Fellow who does not have an office in the College.
  3. A small group of Fellows, including a Divinity Fellow, shall from time to time examine the availability and distribution of research and travel funds and office space, and shall report its findings to the Senate. 
9.  Further Matters:
  1. Study space should be provided for Emeriti and Emeritae Fellows.
  2. Appropriate means should be taken to encourage informal contact between Fellows and students on a regular basis.
  3. Every effort should be made to provide the conditions for the development of a scholarly community of Fellows in the fullest sense of the term by identifying further occasions for intellectual dialogue.

1 (a) “Academic staff” means the members of the teaching staff and professional librarians appointed on a College contract and members of the teaching staff of the University of Toronto or of bodies federated or affiliated therewith cross-appointed to Trinity College under agreement with the University of Toronto. (Cf. Definition 1.1, Statutes and Regulations.) The College’s Faculty of Divinity is affiliated indirectly with the University of Toronto through its direct affiliation with the Toronto School of Theology. (b) A full-time academic appointment is understood here as it is by the University of Toronto, namely as an academic appointment that exceeds 75 percent of full-time employment.

Appendix

Contents: (1) The Academic Appointments Committee; (2) Fellowship Offers; (3) Fellowship Terminations.

1.  The Academic Appointments Committee
  1. The Academic Appointments Committee is a committee of the Senate of Trinity College. It comprises the Dean of Arts, the Dean of Divinity, four Fellows who are members of the Senate, and two students who are members of the Senate. The Committee has, among other responsibilities, that of advising the Senate on policy on Associates and Fellows and that of recommending to the Senate appointments of Associates and Fellows.
  2. In order to assist the Academic Appointments Committee with its responsibility of recommending to the Senate appointments of Associates and Fellows, the Nominations Committee of the Senate shall endeavour to see that among the Fellows on the Academic Appointments Committee there are three, including the Dean of Arts, of whom one is from the Humanities, one from the Social Sciences, and one from the Sciences 
2.  Fellowship Offers
  1. When a recommendation for a Fellowship appointment has been approved by the Senate and Board of Trustees, the individual whose appointment is recommended shall be sent a letter so informing him or her. The letter shall ask the individual to indicate in writing whether he or she accepts the offer of a Fellowship and shall state that if the individual accepts the offer, this will be understood by the Board of Trustees and the Senate to imply that he or she intends to fulfil the expectations of a Trinity Fellow by participating actively and on a regular basis in the life of the College and that if future circumstances make it difficult or impossible for the individual to do this he or she will so inform the Provost or the Dean of Arts.
  2. The following is a sample letter of Fellowship offer:

Dear Prof. X,

I am very pleased to advise you that the Senate of Trinity College has recommended that you be appointed a Fellow of Trinity College and that the College’s Board of Trustees has approved this recommendation.

I understand that when the Dean of Arts wrote to ask you whether you wished to be considered for a Trinity Fellowship, he/she listed the rights of Trinity Fellows and gave examples of ways in which you might choose to participate in College life if you were to become a Fellow of the College. I will not repeat this information here. Rather, I should like to say that if you accept the College’s offer of a Fellowship, this will be understood by the Board of Trustees and the Senate to imply that you intend to fulfil the expectations of a Trinity Fellow by participating actively and on a regular basis in the life of the College and that if future circumstances make it difficult or impossible for you to do this you will so inform me or the Dean of Arts.

I very much hope that you will become a Fellow of Trinity, and that in that capacity you will enjoy a happy association with the College.

I should be grateful if you would inform me in writing whether you accept the offer of an appointment as a Fellow of Trinity College that I hereby have the pleasure of making to you.

Yours sincerely,
Provost

3.  Fellowship Terminations

If the Dean of Arts has reason to believe that a Fellow appointed in the manner described in Section 2 of this appendix is not fulfilling the expectations of a College Fellow, he or she shall be empowered to discuss the matter with the Fellow and/or to refer the Fellow’s name to the Academic Appointments Committee. If the Dean of Arts refers the Fellow’s name to the Academic Appointments Committee, the Committee shall review the matter, without undue publicity, and shall be empowered to do so in consultation with the Fellow concerned. The Committee shall be further empowered to recommend to the Senate that the Fellow be asked to resign (or, if this seems more appropriate, to consider resigning) his or her Fellowship. If the Senate asks the Fellow to resign his or her Fellowship, then, by the act of so doing, it will have terminated his or her Fellowship.

As revised February 2011