Recruiting a More Diverse Faculty…

Role of Search Committee

April 14, 2010

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John T. Rose

Recruiting Diverse Faculty Requires:

Leadership from the President, Provost and Dean Support from the Academic Community Pro Active Sourcing Allocating and investing resources to get ahead of

the curve. Clear evaluation criteria and checkpoints On-going CDO advice and guidance

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CDO Role

Educator Collaborator/Persuader Facilitator Catalyst

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Dispelling Myths

Diversity Not about hiring quotas, or showing

preference to particular groups Allows the best use of talent Removing barriers and providing equal access

and equal opportunity Sometimes those barriers are subtle or

subconscious

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Institutional Goals

Faculty should represent the availability of qualified candidates from each protected group

Use federally-mandated data, on PhD’s in each discipline

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Myths About Hiring And Faculty Diversity

“Relatively few qualified minority candidates are available, and these are highly sought-after, so we are unlikely to recruit them.”

“We are doing everything we can, so the situation is already the best it can be.” Although availabilities differ, in most cases HEI’s

are not hiring faculty anywhere close to the proportion that are available

Data suggest that minorities are not sought-after

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Myths About Hiring And Faculty Diversity

We only use quality as a criterion for hiring. Adding diversity will therefore compromise quality. Quality can be hard to define, and can be

applied differently to different groups Unconscious biases influence our evaluations Example: Name Bias

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Key Steps of Recruiting Process

Sourcing Candidates: The Position Description

Defining the Position Determining Rank Determining Qualifications Advertisement Language

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Position Description (Defining)

Job descriptions Should Have Broad Description of Commitment to Scholarship, Experience and Disciplinary Background.

Should Label Qualifications as “Preferred”, instead of “Required” and use “should” instead of “must”

Where possible, Years of Experience Should be Flexible. For example, in some disciplines Academic

Credentials plus experience as a corporate or NGO executive might add more value than instructional experience alone

Open Rank Provides Flexibility 11

Position Description (Advertising Signals)

The type of language used in the position description may be important to attracting Diverse Candidates.

For Example, Some Colleges Use Phrases Such As: “We are seeking candidates who have a strong

commitment to teaching undergraduate and graduate students from diverse cultural backgrounds”

“We are strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity”

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Position Description (Advertising signals)

“Demonstrated Success In Working With Diverse Populations”.

“Experience Interacting With Diverse Populations or Students of Color”.

“Academic Experiences With Culturally Diverse Populations”.

“Interest In Developing and Implementing Curricula Related to Culturally Diverse Populations”.

“Experience With a Variety of Teaching Methods”.

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The Search Committee

Composition Charging & Orienting Search Committee Developing a timeline Developing selection criteria Generating a diverse candidate pool

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Search Committee (Selection Criteria)

Develop search screening protocol to assure fairness, consistency and uniformity

Consider Departmental/Institutional needs broadly value research and creative endeavors that reflect

diversity recognize importance of diverse mentors as role

models for student value experience and instructional approaches

which will promote cultural competence

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The Search Plan

Cast a wide net Broaden Pool Use multiple, simultaneous recruitment

strategies. Use M/W Journals, Publications, Assocs Move from Traditional to Active Recruiting.

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Search Plan-Active vs. Passive

Beyond reliance on postings (Passive) Search Committee should actively engage in networking and other outreach efforts to generate a pool of diverse candidates, including:

Mailings to academic discipline minority caucus and to other special interest groups

Phone contacts with leadership of diverse professional association, academic discipline minority caucus or other minority organization

Personal approach to potential applicants at academic conferences or professional meetings to encourage applications

Consultation with minority faculty on Campus about effective outreach strategies

Identify possible candidates in the academic discipline through MWMD Directory and other resources

Personal letters inviting candidates to apply and/or to refer others Recruiting trips to University that have high minority PhD graduates Identify those in your discipline who maintain diverse networks

(“Gatekeepers”) and ask for referrals

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Candidate Evaluation- Making the Short List

Determining short list criteria Developing short list candidates

Use of multiple short lists

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Making the Short List

Screen for relevancy, fairness and consistency; but don’t overlook non-traditional experience

Create clear criteria in advance for discussing candidates

Be aware of potential bias towards candidate with degrees from Ivy/Elite schools

Look beyond publication record to other measures of academic merit—teaching excellence, work experience, service and outreach

Create “short’ list for each selection criteria and consider developing “medium” list, if necessary

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Search Committee- Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming there are no Diverse Candidates in the Pipeline for your discipline

Failure to spend time analyzing factors that determine why Diverse Candidates do not apply.

Not soliciting the experiences and perceptions of Diverse Faculty that have been hired

Greater scrutiny of Diverse applicant credentials - Credentials must be from Elite or Ivy League Universities

“King of the Hill” and “Queen Bee” Syndrome Unconscious Bias - desire to hire people “who

are like us”.

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Quality is Subjective: The Myth of Pure Merit (Cont’d)

Unconscious biases influence our evaluations

Example: Recommendation Focus (Trix & Psenka 2003 Study)

letters for women were shorter letters for men focused on different skills

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Gender Differences In Faculty Recommendations

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Gender Differences In Faculty Recommendations

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Letters of Recommendation: Differences By Gender

Most common phrases for women: Her training Her teaching Her application

Most common phrases for men: His research His skills and abilities His career

By this measure, men are portrayed more as researchers and professionals.

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Candidate Evaluation

Handling the Campus Visit and Evaluating Finalists Consider Communications 2-Way Determine evaluation criteria in advance Arrange interviews, demos and job talks

Consistency of opportunity (time, formatting, space, technology, attendees)

Ask uniform interview questions Follow-up may be different

Gather equivalent info on all candidates Seek feed back on specific issues or facets of

candidate’s performance/potential25

Candidate Evaluation (Consistency)

Make sure uniform questions properly examine knowledge, skills, experience and temperament in a variety of settings

Provide template or evaluation forms so Search Committee can rate each candidate both on answers to Q’s and overall

Be aware of potential hidden bias Ivy/Elite Education candidate thinks “like us” candidate “looks” like a fit or “won’t be happy here”

Think carefully about what constitutes excellence in a candidate value of non-traditional career paths non-traditional research interests or publications record of or willingness to engage in community service with diverse

populations

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Candidate Evaluation (Campus Visit)

Demonstrate Sincere Interest In Candidate. Allow candidate to understand Departmental research,

teaching and service expectations. Identify Diverse and Majority Faculty who have similar

scholarly interests so candidate may follow-up Provide an itinerary that allows candidate to get a feel

for College’s Diverse Campus and College Community (Faculty/Students)

Anticipate areas of likely inquiry (culture/climate, service/governance responsibilities/opportunities, departmental relations) to marshal thoughtful response

Provide contextual information so candidate can make informed decision as to “fit”

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Job Offer

Must be enthusiastic Make Quality Offer (Avoid low balls) Provide good resources (office, lab,

equipment) Avoid burdening with service obligations

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Job Offer

Make sure candidates know salary range and progression

Discuss departmental/institutional benefits and resources that can be made available to improve “quality” of professional and personal/family life

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National Recruitment Trends

Establish pool of qualified minority faculty applicants

Attend Disciplinary conferences. Attend Conferences for minority doctoral

students. Involve HEI Diversity Office Contact Multicultural Associations Contact Department Chairs at HBCUs to

Identity Potential Applicants

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National Recruitment Trends

Review Scholarly Journals & Conference Programs to Identify Potential Applicants

Host a Future Faculty Career Exploration Program to Attract Applicants.

Educate deans, department chairs and faculty members on diversity recruitment goals.

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Post-Hire Retention Issues

Support new hire welcoming environment (office ready, paper work

ready, introductions) maintain contact-listen well, make adjustments follow-up regularly (tackle problems early) identify collegial networks identify informal faculty mentors recognize potential overload from mentoring minority

students and adjust service expectations

Clearly state standards and procedures for advancement/tenure

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Q & A

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Acknowledgement

This presentation includes ideas, suggestions and materials provided by my colleagues at the City University of New York (CUNY) or publically available at CUNY institutions or other public higher education institutions.

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