James McGill Professor and William Dawson Scholar Program

Program Details

As McGill uses CRC Chairs for external recruitment, two internal awards, the James McGill Professor and William Dawson Scholar, were created in 2000 in parallel with the Canada Research Chair program to recognize the outstanding research contributions of academic staff members already at McGill University. The Deans were invited to submit the names of their nominees, along with the required documentation, to the Provost. The announcements of the first were made November 1, 2000. The total number of these awards is adjusted to equal that of the Canada Research allocation.

The James McGill Professor award recognizes a senior scholar’s status as outstanding and original researcher of world-class caliber and a leader in his or her field similar to that of the CRC Tier I. James McGill Professors must be tenured full professors. They hold the award for a seven-year term, renewable upon satisfactory review of performance.

The William Dawson Scholar award recognizes a scholar developing into an outstanding and original researcher of world-class caliber who is poised to become a leader in his or her field, similar to that of a CRC Tier II. William Dawson Scholars must be tenure-track assistant or associate professors. They receive the award for a five-year term, renewable once upon satisfactory review of performance.

Assistant professors who are William Dawson Scholars must be granted tenure in order to have the award renewed. Tenure denial terminates the award. If the tenure process is not completed by the end of the first term, a one-year extension may be granted by the Provost. If this extension is granted, the candidate would only be eligible for a 4-year renewal.

Funding

These awards will include a temporary salary supplement in the form of a stipend and a research support allowance. These combined total of the salary stipend and research grant will not exceed $25,000.

The stipend will be conditional to retaining the award. Research expenses are subject to audit.

Teaching, research and administrative duties of the professors/scholars will be established by their department Chair. There is no implied shift in duties linked with one of these awards.

Guidelines Relating to Research Grant Porition Associated with a James McGill Professorship or a William Dawson Scholarship

Rules and Guidelines

The amount and duration of the grant are specified in the letter of notification of the award.
The research fund associated with the award is to be used exclusively for purposes of research and scholarship. It is not a supplement to the awardee's income.
The use of the research fund is subject to all applicable University policies on research, especially those related to ethics and conflict of interest.
The funding of teaching release time is not an eligible expenditure.
Travel expenses and personal expense reimbursements for the awardee must be approved by the awardee's Chair and must adhere to the University's policy.
All software, books, equipment, or other property acquired by the awardee with funds from this award are the property of the University. The awardee is expected to make such acquisitions available to the awardee's Department or Faculty insofar as this is compatible with the awardee's own research program.
All administrative and office equipment, including cellular phones and furniture are not eligible research fund expenditures.
The Office of the Associate Provost, Faculty Affairs and Resource Allocation (FARA) will monitor the expenditures. Non-compliance will result in the forfeiture of any unspent balances, and future yearly allocations.
These revised guidelines take effect 1 May 2011

Procedures

The Office of the Provost, or delegate, shall notify the Supervisor, Unrestricted Funds of Financial Services, of the name, department, faculty of the award holder, of the amount of the award and the duration of the award.
Unrestricted Funds shall then proceed to establish a new fund in the name of the grantee. The annual amount of the award shall be budgeted for spending.
At the end of the award period, a six-month automatic extension will come into effect to use unspent funds. Once the six-month extension has ended, the account will be officially closed.

Nomination of JMP-WDS

Deans may bring forth the curriculum vitae of suitable candidates who they may wish to nominate for a William Dawson Scholar or James McGill Professor award. In bringing forward their nominations, Deans should give particular consideration to present candidates from the four groups protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; women, persons with a disability, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities. If a position is available, the decision will be made by the Provost to approve or not the nomination of the candidate on the William Dawson Scholar or James McGill Professor award.

Renewal of Award

Renewals are contingent upon an internal university review of the Chair-holder’s first five or seven-year term in the Chair to determine if continued institutional support should be provided for an individual researcher to renew his or her research Chair. The criteria for renewal are similar to those applied for renewal of the CRC programs for the Tier I (James McGill Professor Award) and Tier II (William Dawson Scholar Award) (see guidelines CRC Renewal Guidelines).

There is, in the review of the James McGill Professor/William Dawson Scholar Awards, a presumption of renewal, in the sense that the question one is asking oneself is not whether the candidate is the best amongst all possible ones, but whether he or she has maintained the standards and achieved the expectations that gave rise to the award in the first place. Given the number of these Chairs, this amounts to a certain degree, to asking whether the candidate ranks among the top 20% of our Faculty.

The Internal Review Procedure for Renewal

The internal review will be carried out by members of the full-time tenured academic community serving on a standing review committee with selected NSERC, CIHR or SSHRC-disciplinary expertise. Committee members will review documents received from the Faculty recommending renewal of the James McGill Professor/William Dawson Scholar Awards. Faculties have discretion over procedures used; however, two recommendations and reports are required:
(a) Departmental report and recommendation
(b) Faculty report and recommendation

The Standing Internal Review Committee makes a recommendation to the Provost who adjudicates other support and the terms for renewal or not of the Award. The Provost’s office informs the Faculty and the candidate of the decision and of the terms for renewal.

It is understood that this review process for the renewal of a William Dawson Scholars/James McGill Professors is different and distinct from the existing promotion and tenure review procedure.

The Standing Internal Review Committee

The candidate’s file will be reviewed by the committee matched to the content expertise of the candidate. If the number of candidates being reviewed is too small to warrant separate discipline-related committees, a trans-disciplinary committee will be struck to ensure expert representation from the various disciplinary areas.

Composition of the University Review Committee

The Committee consists of Associate-Provost (Planning and Budgets), the VP Research and International Relations (VP-RIR) or a delegate and five tenured members of the University chosen jointly by the Associate-Provost and the VP (RIR) or delegate, in consultation with Deans, so as to ensure appropriate representation of faculties and disciplines (NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC). Each Dean will be asked to provide, by June 15th of each academic year, a list of 6 tenured academic staff members that could be called upon to serve on one of the disciplinary committees. Additional members will be identified to serve as replacements for primary assigned members. Members will be assigned staggered terms of two years each starting September 1st.

Documents to be Submitted on Behalf of the Candidates

At all levels of evaluation, the complete file should include:

For new nominations:
1. An updated curriculum vitae of the candidate specifically showing current peer reviewed funding and an updated list of publications.
2. A project title and half- to full-page summary of what the research funding will be used for.
3. The Dean's request/recommendations.
For rewnewals:
1. An updated curriculum vitae of the candidate specifically showing current peer reviewed funding and an updated list of publications.
2. The performance report prepared by the candidate according to CRC guidelines.
3. A 3-5 page research summary, including a project title
4. The Department recommendation report
5. The Faculty recommendation report

Evaluation Criteria - Quality of the Award Holder

For William Dawson Scholars, the submitted file must demonstrate that the award holder is developing into an outstanding and original researcher of world-class caliber who is poised to become a leader in his or her field.

For James McGill Professors, the file must demonstrate that the award holder is maintaining his or her status as outstanding and original researcher of world-class caliber and a leader in his or her field.

The criteria for evaluation will be similar to those prescribed by the CRC program, namely:

Appropriate record of research results dissemination:
For example, in peer-reviewed journals, monographs and books; at conferences, and in the form of patents, copyrights, products, services and technology transfer. The information will be examined to determine the extent to which the research has made a significant impact in the field.
Record of training of highly qualified personnel:
A description of (i) the training strategies the award holder has created to attract students, trainees and future researchers; (ii) the means through which the award holder has encouraged these individuals to develop expertise; and (iii) how the award holder has created an environment that attracts, develops and retains outstanding researchers in areas and technologies that are critical to Canada’s cultural, social and economic growth, vital public policy issues, and quality of life should be provided.
Program of research:
An account of how the award holder has (i) achieved the goals of his or her research program; (ii) improved Canada’s ability to lead in research that has high social, cultural, scientific or technological impact.
Integration with the University’s research plan:
A description of how the award holder has (i) helped build relationships with other research initiatives in Canada and abroad; (ii) produced impacts that demonstrate the institution’s strategic development of research; and (iii) improved (if applicable) the institution’s ability to leverage additional research funding.

Deadlines for Submission

The review process for renewal takes place during the CRC/JMP/WDS Winter review process.

JMP-WDS END-Date	Documents Deadline in Provost's Office
April 30th	February 1st

Minerva Appointment Form

Once the Provostial letter is issued appointing or renewing the JMP/WDS, the Minerva Appointment Form must be issued using the appropriate JMP/WDS position code as indicated on the Award, Stipend and Other Payment Codes page.

Listings of Current James McGill Professors and William Dawson Scholars

To view the current recipients, please visit James McGill Professors or William Dawson Scholars.

Updated on Mon, 2013-09-16 14:25

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