Summary
We are pleased to note that the CMC Review Board’s reporting relationship, terms of reference and competency profiles have now been made public and that the selection process for the external members is underway with a publicly posted job opportunity which can be found here (https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/canadian-military-colleges-review-board-at-department-of-national-defence-3586570077/?originalSubdomain=ca). We see this selection process as a critical step in this in preparing for the review.
Since our last update in February, the Association has been taking steps to prepare to make a professional and credible submission to the Canadian Military Colleges Review Board.
We are pleased to note that the CMC Review Board’s reporting relationship, terms of reference and competency profiles have now been made public and that the selection process for the external members is underway with a publicly posted job opportunity which can be found here (https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/canadian-military-colleges-review-board-at-department-of-national-defence-3586570077/?originalSubdomain=ca). We see this selection process as a critical step in this in preparing for the review.
As an organization committed to the advancement of the Canadian Military Colleges, the RMC Alumni Association recognizes that systemic and cultural factors have contributed to the problems described in the Arbour Report and in earlier reports. We see the CMC Review as a crucial opportunity to make the Colleges safer and more effective in their vocation of producing future leaders for the Canadian Armed Forces and for Canada.
Key points to note from the poster include:
- The Canadian Military Colleges Review Board will focus on the quality of education, socialization, and military training at military colleges. The CMCs Review Board will report to the Deputy Minister and the Chief of the Defence Staff and will consist of five members hired from outside National Defence and the Public Service, and two members from the Defence Team. These roles are compensated, full-time and 12 months in duration.
- The 5 external appointments will focus primarily on seasoned executives with a depth of governance experience and a specific area of expertise:
- Chairperson (bilingual), Masters (ideally PhD) degree in a field related to education, Recognized expert in adult education, minimum five years’ experience within the past 10 years in leading teams at the institutional level
- External academic (bilingual), Masters (ideally PhD) degree in a field related to education, Five years’ experience within the past ten years as a practitioner in the field of adult education
- External executive (unilingual), Executive level position in another sector (private, public, not-for-profit, or foreign military), Five years’ experience within the past 10 years as an executive in their field of expertise
- External Cultural Evolution and Organizational Change (unilingual), Bachelor’s degree (ideally Masters) in related field, five years’ experience within the last ten years as a practitioner or educator in the field of Cultural Evolution
- External expert in young adult development and socialization (unilingual), Bachelor’s degree (ideally Masters) in a related field, Five years’ experience as a practitioner or educator in the field of young adult socialization
We must also highlight that:
- The perceived and real impartiality of the Board is of central importance in order to ensure the credibility of its report and, in turn, the cultural evolution and the future of the CMCs within, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Any individual in a position of conflict of interest (including current/former CMC students), such as having expressed a strong public opinion regarding the future of CMCs, cannot be a candidate for the CMC Review Board.
- Board representation will take into consideration gender, first official language, and, ideally, at least one representative who has familiarity with the Ontario and Quebec post-secondary education systems.
We continue to welcome your feedback and your perspectives. You can reach our Arbour response team at: [email protected]
J Scott Stevenson, 16598
Chair – Advocacy & Promotion Committee
Lead – RMCAA Response to Arbour Report
Royal Military Colleges of Canada Alumni Association