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Vice-President Equity, People and Culture
Home » President’s Advisory Council on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terms of Reference

President’s Advisory Council on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terms of Reference

1. Introduction

York University has a long-standing commitment to access, inclusion, equity and diversity; it is a leader in creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive community on all its campuses. This Council has been formed to provide advice on the development of an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy for the institution and to act as an advisory body to the President.

2. Mandate

The President’s Advisory Council on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (“the Council”) is an advisory body to the President, chaired by the Vice President Equity, People and Culture (VP EPC), with responsibility for providing advice and recommendations on how to advance an EDI strategy. This Council enables and supports York students, faculty and staff to participate meaningfully in the planning and implementation of an EDI strategy, with the goal of cultivating a diverse campus culture that is equitable and inclusive. 

Once developed, the strategy will roll out over a 5-year period in its initial implementation phase. The EDI strategy shall cover all areas of University activity, related to Faculty, staff and students.

The Council

  • operates in an atmosphere of collegial co-operation, where all participants respect each other’s participation through sharing of expertise, information and strategies, and
  • promotes awareness within the community of EDI issues as it pertains to the development of the strategy

3. Terms of Reference

  • At the direction of the Steering Committee, develop and submit to the President a university-wide strategy that acknowledges York’s decentralized nature and the significant differences in the demographic composition and organizational climate among Faculties, Colleges, Divisions and Units.
    • Conduct an internal scan of York as it relates to EDI among students, faculty and staff
    • Conduct an external environmental scan of EDI promising practices in higher education with a specific focus on the Canadian context
    • Set goals for the Council that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based (SMART) and that are related to the scope of work; develop draft timelines that encourages discussion and reveals differences of opinion for the development of the strategy
    • Conduct a series of focus groups and community consultations on special topics related to EDI and the draft EDI strategy for consideration
    • Through a planning and prioritization process, identify and examine specific high priority EDI issues to advise the Steering Committee and the President
    • Ensures the University-wide EDI strategy is linked to unit-level EDI work and builds appropriate structures and supports, in conjunction with the Office of the VP EPC
  • Provide guidance on the development of special topics within the sub-groups
    • Receive direction from the Steering Committee to the Council
    • Establish sub-groups or special topic committees
    • Provide direction and feedback on the work of the sub-groups/committees on special topics
    • Ensure that sub-group/committee feedback, recommendations, etc. are shared with the Steering Committee for consideration
  • Identify and recommend accountabilities and benchmarks for achieving progress on the implementation of the EDI strategy
  • Provide a forum in which members discuss EDI challenges and opportunities to foster an integrated and collaborative approach to EDI initiatives across the university
  • Provide advice to the Steering Committee and President on communication tools to be developed that promote and enhance awareness of EDI activities and initiatives, including the work of the Council, throughout the entire York Community
  • Receive advice and direction from the EDI Steering Committee (see Steering Committee Terms of Reference)
  • From time to time connect with emerging communities of practice, such as gatherings of EDI practitioners

4. Membership

  • Membership (LINK) of the Council will be broad-based, ensuring representation from students, staff and faculty. Attention will be paid to the ensuring membership has appropriate expertise in the area of EDI and represented of list the equity groups… and refer to intersectionality
    • Appointments
      • Ex-Officio members shall hold their position for the duration of their appointment in that role
      • Divisional and Faculty Representatives are appointed by the head of the Division or the Dean of the Faculty
      • Student vacancies are appointed by the VP EPC, in consultation with the VP Students and Dean, Graduate Studies
      • Post-Doctoral representative is appointed by the VP EPC, in consultation with the Dean Graduate Studies
      • Staff & Faculty At-Large representatives are appointed based on review of applications by members of the Steering Committee
      • Indigenous Council representative is appointed by the Indigenous Council
    • Expectations of Members
      • Members are expected to attend meetings where possible, and when not, to make the effort to understand what happened in a missed meeting prior to the next meeting
      • Members are expected to act as a two-way conduit of communication to their constituencies; they should report back to constituencies and solicit feedback as appropriate which can be passed back to the Council or Steering Committee
      • Members are expected to participate in at least one special topic sub-committee

5. Consensus-Based Advice

Advice is formulated, to the extent possible, by consensus, while striving to reflect the diversity of views of the membership.

6. Meetings & Protocols

  • Timing & Frequency of Meetings: Council meets monthly
  • Technical/Administrative Support to the Committee:
    • The administration of the Council shall be taken up by the Technical Support to the Committee (see membership), provided by the Office of the VP EPC.
    • All records of the meetings, including the minutes, shall be retained in accordance with the Common Records Schedule (CRS) under York University’s Information, Privacy and Copyright Office.
    • The Technical Support to the Committee shall be responsible for ensuring correspondence and advice provided by the Council are available to relevant people or bodies, including the membership of sub-committees and other relevant bodies or offices.

7. Reporting

The Council reports to the Steering Committee and the President and makes recommendations to the holder of the Office of President.  It shall report regularly to the community at large on its activities.