Administrative Service

3.4 Administrative Service
3.4.1 Attributes

According to the University of Toronto Policy and Procedures Governing Promotions paragraph 13a):

“Service to the University means primarily administrative or committee work within the University. Consideration will also be given to activities outside the University, which further the scholarly and educational goals of the University. Such activities might include service to professional societies directly related to the candidate’s discipline, continuing-education activities, work with professional, technical or scholarly organizations or scholarly publications, and membership on or service to governmental committees and commissions. Outsideactivities are not meant to include general service to the community unrelated to the candidate’s scholarly or teaching activities, however praiseworthy such service may be.” (paragraph 13a)

Service within the University and to external agencies forms an important and often timeconsuming aspect of many faculty members’ academic careers. In providing this service, they contribute to the continued excellence of the academic environment and allow the University a voice and visibility in external agencies. Although service in itself cannot be the main criteria for promotion, Promotions Committees may consider service as defined above in support of achievements in Teaching and Education or Scholarship (Research and/or CPA). It is the responsibility of the candidate to clearly establish the link between such service and his or her
academic mandate and responsibilities. The candidate may choose to include documentation of Service Activities in their dossier in one of two ways: as part of the sections on Creative Professional Activities and/or Teaching and Education, or as a separate section. In either case, the documentation should include a detailed description of the service activities as well as an assessment of the impact of these activities on academic, professional, government or other communities.

Significant service contributions may include but are not limited to:

• Service to the Department that goes beyond what is normally expected of a faculty member
• Service to the Faculty of Medicine (committee chair, lead coordinator of a special project, lead developer of faculty policies)
• Service to the University (committee chair, lead coordinator of a special project, significant role in developing university policies or initiatives)
• Service to the professional, clinical or research discipline (president of national or
• international organizations, committee chair, conference organizer, policy development)
• Service to municipal, provincial or federal governments or non-government organizations

3.4.2 Assessment
According to University of Toronto Policy and Procedures Governing Promotion:

“When appropriate, written assessments of the candidate’s service to the University and to learned societies or professional associations which relate to the candidate’s academic discipline and scholarly or professional activities will be prepared and presented to the Promotions committee. When a candidate for promotion is or has been cross-appointed, assessments will be sought from all of the divisions in which the candidate has served and should be taken fully intoaccount by the Promotions Committee. paragraph 13b.

• Contributions must be related to the candidate’s discipline or profession and relevant to his/her appointment at the University of Toronto
• There should be evidence of sustained and current activity
• The focus should be on the impact of the service activities, not only the quantity of activities
• There must be evidence that the service activities have had a significant impact within the university community or within the wider community, which may be discipline or profession specific

• Due to the variable activities included under Service, there may be diverse, and sometimes innovative markers used to indicate the impact of Service. Such evidence may include:
  • Establishment of new programs within the Faculty or University
  • Successful fundraising activities that benefit the Department, Faculty or University
  • Development of new or revised Departmental, Faculty or University policies and procedures
  • Innovative initiatives as Chair of a department
  • Invitations to serve a leadership function in the Faculty or University
  • Representation and active involvement on Boards and other organizational committees
  • Significant contributions while serving in a leadership role in discipline or professional organizations
  • Significant contributions to the development of policies or procedures within a discipline, profession or relevant organization

3.4.3 Documentation
1. Candidate’s statement

1. A brief outline of the Service activities: Use of bullet points is encouraged.
2. A statement of the impact of the service achievements: Comment on how your contributions have affected your department, the Faculty of Medicine, the University, your discipline, the professional community or other targeted communities.
3. Supporting detailed documentation: provide copies of relevant documents or other documentation that demonstrate the nature and impact of your service achievements.

2. Documentation from others:

1. Documentation or evidence of the impact of the service achievements including, but not limited to, evaluations, documentation from external reviewers, internal and external letters of reference, etc.
2. Letters of reference from national and international leaders in the discipline, professional or policy organization will be an important part of the documentation