An algorithm for the committee construction problem

Abstract

This paper presents an approach to the problem of committee construction for Associate Professorship promotions. In Turkey, the promotion to the ‘Associate Professor’ title is centrally organized by the Interuniversity Council. The Interuniversity Council assigns an evaluation committee to each applicant. Each applicant is then examined by the committee based on his/her publications and background. The problem is, how to form juries in order to maximize the match of background of the jury members and the candidates and to balance the number of assignments made to the professors. The method developed consists of techniques in solving multiple criteria problems, bottleneck assignment problems, and transportation problem. The criteria of the problem are ordered in a lexicographic manner and solution algorithms are developed for individual problems, depending on their respective structures. The overall method is coded to create a user-friendly software which assigns main and reserved members of the juries and determines the appropriate place for the meetings.