Appointment procedure

Please refer to your editorial note on Page 19 of Salient. 28 February 1977. I am very sorry to say that you have completely mis-represented the situation and that you have been misled by the person who informed you of the facts. You could have easily checked the matter with me, or should have attempted to consult the Minutes of the Political Science Departmental Meeting of 15 September 1976. We regard to the appointment the Minutes state:

"Dr Vasil reported that there were 60 applicants and he and Professor Brookes had examined all of them and put a reduced list of 17 to the Executive Committee who had unanimously agreed on the first preferences and on the other 7 on the short list for the Appointments Committee".

As the Chairman of the School of Political Science and Public Administration, it was my responsibility to process the applications and prepare a short list of the candidates for the Appointments Committee of the University, in consultation with the Registry. It is a matter of departmental policy to ask the appropriate staff member to assist the Chairman in this process. The position advertised last year required candidates with interest particularly related to the academic concerns of Professor Brookes. In relation to vacancies in other fields it is usual to request other members of the School, with a special knowledge of the academic requirements, to assist the Chairman. It should be pointed out that this procedure of short listing is an almost universal practice. It does not in any way prevent the Appointments Committee from scrutirising the whole range of candidates if they should wish to do so.