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CAUT Policy Statement on Academic Appointments Held Jointly in a University and a Related Institution¹

It is the responsibility of both post-secondary educational institutions and academic staff associations to protect academic freedom. This responsibility extends to all academic staff members including those who hold a joint appointment in a post-secondary educational institution and another public service or research organization including a hospital. Academic staff associations must negotiate within their collective agreements or academic staff handbooks language that recognizes the academic rights of all academic appointees. Collective agreements, academic staff handbooks, special plans, individual contracts or other documents describing the relationship between academic staff and the institution must contain clear and precise language which guarantees academic freedom and establishes precedence over any affiliation agreement which might cover joint appointments with a related institution. Affiliation agreements shall recognize that the terms of the collective agreement or academic staff handbook apply to all persons holding a joint appointment.

Collective agreements, academic staff handbooks, special plans, individual contracts or other documents describing the relationship between academic staff and the institution, and affiliation agreements must:

a) provide appropriate appointment procedures consistent with the academic standards of post-secondary educational institutions,

b) explicitly define the responsibilities and workload duties which are fair and equitable for those academic staff members who hold joint appointments,

c) recognize the right of academic staff members who hold joint appointments to full academic careers including access to tenure, promotion, research and teaching support and sabbatical leaves,

d) impose no unreasonable restriction on the right of an academic staff member to disseminate the results of research, and

e) provide appropriate independent procedures consistent with natural justice and administrative fairness to deal with resolution of any disputes between academic staff and the institution.

In addition, all contracts governing sponsored research performed by academic staff shall expressly provide that the investigator shall not be prevented by the sponsor (or any other body or person ) from informing research subjects, members of the research group, research ethics boards, regulatory agencies, and the scientific community of any risks to participants that the investigator might identify during the research, subject to appropriate confidentiality restrictions. All industry/academic agreements and contracts should be filed with a body empowered to enforce protections for academic freedom.2

Approved by the CAUT Council, November 2002.

Endnotes
1. The phrase "related institution" includes any autonomous public service or research organization such as a hospital in which members of the academic staff of a university carry out professional activities.

2. See Jon Thompson, Patricia Baird and Jocelyn Downie, Report of the Committee of Inquiry on the Case Involving Dr. Nancy Olivieri, the Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto, and Apotex Inc. (CAUT, 2001) in Recommendation 21, pp. 45-46.