Hiring Practices

Faculty diversity is an institutional goal. It is also a priority in Arts, Sciences and Engineering (AS&E). That's why we:

• Work continuously to increase the number and percentages of underrepresented minorities and women faculty on the tenure track
• Ensure that sufficient resources are provided to successfully recruit these candidates
• Ensure that best practices in recruitment are shared with each search committee
• Provide AS&E-specific orientation to all new faculty
• Develop practices to help all faculty members feel welcome and embraced within the AS&E community

Excellence and diversity are not mutually exclusive. We recognize that each search has multiple factors that bear on the final outcome (such as decisions about sub-fields, the construction or placement of ads, the metrics being used to evaluate candidates, etc.). Yet there are still ways to encourage a diverse applicant pool and a fair hiring process. These include:

• Recruiting actively—Network with young scholars, foster connections with other institutions to identify promising candidates, pursue candidates thriving at less well-ranked institutions, and continue to build the pipeline of talent by encouraging undergraduates to consider graduate school.
• Creating inclusive research and teaching environments—Recognize your unconscious or implicit biases, thoughts, and feelings, which can influence your seemingly objective decisions and actions. Commit to work through issues by addressing conflict and having difficult conversations when necessary.
• Assigning or recruiting a dedicated search committee member—This person can help monitor process and advocate for underrepresented and women candidates.
• Include more and other voices on the search committee—Consider an external member or a non-voting graduate student for the role.
• Distribute early review across a wide group of committee members
• Read the research proposal first—After, read the letters and CV. This will help "ideas" dominate your first impression.
• Keep your eyes open for target-of-opportunity hires—Sometimes targets-of-opportunity will present themselves directly. More often, those in whom we might be interested will not be on the market, and work will be required to identify them. In such cases, a department explores discreetly to identify potential candidates of interest, generally without making any approach to the individuals concerned.