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Election of Officers to the Board of Governors

Purpose

The Board of Governors conducts an election of its officers annually according to this policy.

Scope

Seneca is committed to the values of equity, diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of its operations and activities. This commitment and policy apply to all members of the Board of Governors.

Policy

1. Chair and Vice-Chairs: officers, terms and eligibility

  1. The elected officers of the board will consist of one Chair and two Vice-Chairs.
  2. All positions will be for a two-year renewable term, effective September 1.
  3. Where terms are vacated before the scheduled expiry date, elections will be held to fill the remainder of the vacated term.
  4. In accordance with the Board of Governors’ By-Law No. 1:
    1. The Chair and Vice-Chairs shall be elected from the board’s appointed external members.
    2. To facilitate continuity, the terms of the Chair and one Vice-Chair shall be for the same two-year period, while the term of the other Vice-Chair will begin in the second year of the Chair and other Vice-Chair.
    3. The succeeding Chair shall be selected from the members of the board who have served at least one year of their term.
    4. The Chair and Vice-Chairs shall be eligible for re-election up to the date of the expiry of their term as a Governor.

2. Election date and candidate notification

  1. Elections will be held at the June meeting of the Board.
  2. External members of the board who are interested in being considered should notify the Board Secretariat of their interest at least 14 calendar days before that meeting.
  3. A notice of the call for nominations will be issued at the preceding meeting of the Board.
  4. A motion nominating the officers for election will be brought forward by the Governance and Nominating Committee.
  5. Nominations can be made from the floor at the time of the election. In such instances, nominees must confirm their willingness to let their name stand.

3. Election procedures for chair

  1. Sequentially, the election of a Chair will always precede the election of a Vice-Chair.
  2. The presiding Chair of the Board of Governors will oversee the election process, provided the Chair is ineligible, or unable, to occupy any office being elected.
  3. In the event that the Chair is a candidate, a Vice-Chair will be elected by the board to oversee the election(s), provided no conflict exists.
    1. The Chair will be eligible to vote, but will not be eligible to break a tie vote (see 3.9).
  4. In the event that no Vice-Chair(s) is eligible or willing to serve, the Board will elect one of Seneca’s Vice-Presidents to act as a non-voting Chair during the election process.
  5. The Chair will announce the names of those individuals who have put their name forward then call for nominations from the floor. A ballot shall be held if more than one candidate is nominated for the Chair position.
  6. Secret ballots will be used when positions are contested. Proxy ballots will not be allowed.
  7. The Corporate Secretary and the Treasurer shall tabulate the ballots.
  8. In the event that a majority (50% + one vote) is not achieved, the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes will be dropped from the next ballot. This procedure would be continued until one candidate receives a majority of the votes cast (abstentions and spoiled ballots are not considered to be a vote).
  9. In the event that a tie occurs, this will be announced and there will be one more vote. If the vote is still tied, the tie will be broken by a coin toss conducted by the Corporate Secretary.
  10. Once a majority is achieved, the successful candidate will be announced without an indication of the actual votes received.

4. Election procedures for Vice-Chairs

  1. The procedures will be the same as for the Chair, except that:
    • board members will be able to vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies
    • if needed, candidates will either be declared elected if they received a majority of the votes or dropped from the ballot if they have the lowest vote count and a majority for all vacancies is not achieved.
  2. There are three appointed officers: President, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer. The last two shall be employees and are appointed, not elected. The President is an officer of the Board.

Supporting documentation

  • None

Related Seneca policies

  • By-Law No. 1, 2021

Related materials

  • None

Approval Date: May 2007

Last Revision: February 2021