Retiring a PAC member | PAC Resources | Seneca Polytechnic

How is PAC membership reviewed? 

The academic chair will review committee membership each fall and notify members when they have completed their first or second membership term. A member’s terms can be tracked on the PAC membership template.

Renewal of a member’s first three-year term will be determined by the academic chair and the PAC chair. Reappointment letters can be provided by the academic chair. The program area is encouraged to use the reappointment letter template.

How long can PAC members serve? 

Members can serve two three-year terms — six years total. Upon completion of a second term, a member must retire from the committee.

What happens when a PAC member resigns or retires?

There are many situations in which a member will resign or retire from a PAC. These include:

• accepting employment at Seneca, including full-time or part-time teaching positions and/or a contact for curriculum/course development
• completing their membership term(s)
• missing two consecutive meetings without notifying Seneca
• not responding to communications from the academic chair
• no longer working in the applicable industry

In all these situations, the program chair will complete and submit the PAC resignation form together with an updated membership list by email to the Academic Quality team. 

The academic chair will notify the member that they have reached the end of their second and final membership term using the end of membership term notification letter template. 

Normally, when a PAC member retires from industry, they will resign from the PAC unless a case can be made outlining the continuing contribution the individual may bring to the PAC.

How are outgoing members recognized? 

Resigning/retiring members will receive a thank you communication from Seneca’s President upon request by the program area. 

Similar to the welcome communication from the President’s Office, the thank you message is a courtesy acknowledging the member’s service and thanking them for their contributions. The communication is not used to inform the member of the conclusion of their service; this is done by the program area representative who will confer directly with the member. 

Program areas can request a thank you from the President by submitting the resignation form, along with an updated membership list, by email to the Academic Quality team. Academic Quality files all resignation forms and submits the request for communications to the President’s Office once a month.

The dean and academic chair will be copied on the subsequent communication.

How are outgoing members replaced? 

The academic chair is responsible for replacing resigning or retiring PAC members. Ideally, membership is staggered each year, with new members joining and other members completing their term(s). This allows for both ongoing renewal of the committee membership and continuity in the committee’s work.