Academic Search Committees

What We Waste when Faculty Hiring Goes Wrong

COST: Advertising

Time spent by Search Committee, Staff, Admin

Send Search Committee to national Conference for screening

interviews

Bringing finalists to campus for interviews

___________________________________________

TOTAL: First year salary of new faculty in Humanities

Responsibilities of Search Committee Chairs

• Create a climate of trust• Call the meetings• Organize the agendas• Ensure process notes are shared

promptly• Facilitate all meetings,

addressing all agenda items• Move the process forward• Communicate with the person

who charged the search committee

• Ensure all documentation is completed accurately, delivered to appropriate source

• Delegate key responsibilities such as administrative support, schedules, candidate visits

• Act as spokesperson for committee

• Address/confront conflicts of interest & other issues

• Present final candidates to the person who charged the committee

• Encourage a process for welcoming new hire

Responsibilities of Search Committee Members

• Attend all meetings• Complete all assignments

on time• Contribute personal and

professional perspective• Sustain the vision for the

position-keeping best interests of department and institution in mind

• Communicate opinions honestly

• Speak candidly with candidates while maintaining positive attitude about the position, the department & the institution

• Work toward consensus• Respect confidentiality –

both for candidate and for department

• Abide by the agreements made by the full committee

Points for Chairs to Exert Leadership

• Struggle over the definition of the faculty position• Choice by Committee = Decision by Committee• Role of internal dissent• “Threat” posed by young, ambitious talent• Mid-career faculty on a “shopping expedition”

Questions to Ask the Stakeholders• How does the position support the department/its mission?• What expectations do you have for the person in this position?• What should the committee be looking for in a candidate?• What opportunities related to this position have been

overlooked in the past as possible growth areas?• What characteristics are you looking for in a candidate who

would be an excellent fit?• What emerging trends and challenges in the field do you see

will impact this position?

Elements of an Advertisement• Position title• Institution and location• Reporting structure• Primary accountabilities and responsibilities• Key qualifications• Distinctive qualities desired• Application process• Review process• Salary range or compensation statement• Statements on commitment to diversity and EEO/AA

compliance

Potential Pitfalls

• We’ll know good applicants when we see them.– Indistinct criteria or lack of consensus

• Confusing the function of the office & the qualifications of the position– Glossing over requirements/expectations

• Too restrictive or unrealistic requirements• Organizational, leadership, or perceptual biases

surface

Study of 250 Mathematics Position Ads

Myths about Recruiting a Diverse Pool

• Many institutions are competing for few candidates• Scholars of color are in high demand• Scholars of color leave academia for lucrative

private/government positions• They are all recruited by high powered institutions• The few who are available are in high demand• Candidates from prestigious schools are only interested in

prestigious jobs• Diversification means heterosexual white males have no

chance

MYTH 1: Few are available….

PROPORTION OF DOCTORATES AWARDED TO U.S. MINORITY-GROUP MEMBERS

Both the number and proportion of doctorates earned by minority U.S. citizens rose between 1984 and 2004.

• American Indian– 1984 0.3%– 2004 0.5%

• Asian– 1984 2.2%– 2004 5.6%

• Black– 1984 4.1%– 2004 7.2%

• Hispanic– 1984 2.3%– 2004 4.6%

• NOTE: Proportions are based on U.S.-citizen recipients only.• SOURCE: Survey of Earned Doctorates, Summary Report for 2004,

National Opinion Research Center

Myth 2: TWU is doing ok….

TWU Minority Student Enrollment – 38%

Percent Minority Faculty - Texas 4-year InstitutionsSource: Chronicle of Higher Education, Octoner 2007

TWU14

AVERAGE 23.8

Texas A&M Intl 37

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Strategies to Increase Diversity• Look for teaching experience with diverse populations• Share information about the opening with senior leaders and incumbents from

similar institutions – use targeted networking– Request personal referrals of outstanding candidates (let them know their referrals will get

immediate attention)• Send announcements and supporting documents to professional associations, honor

societies, journal editors, conference leaders• Post on on-line • Contact institutions who have recently searched for/hired for a similar position –

their sources of candidates? Finalists?• Contact women's colleges and historically Black/Hispanic colleges and universities

for alumni information/leads• Recruit at conferences that target minority professionals• Personally contact candidates and maintain contact• Have a diverse search committee• Be mindful of dual-career issues

Hiring Gen-X Faculty

• Born between 1965 and 1980• Skeptical• Believe parents suffered VDD – vacation deficit disorder

• “Give me balance now, not when I’m 65.”• “If they can’t understand that I want a kick-ass career and a kick-ass life, then I

don’t want to work here.”• “Why does it matter when I come and go, as long as I get the work done?”

Willing to work hard but wants to decide when, where, and how.

Source: This slide and the next –Lancaster & Stillman (2002). When Generations Collide.

NY: HarperCollins Publishing Inc.

The GenX Academe ClashFrom: Trower, Cathy A. How to Recruit a Gen-X Faculty Member, Inside Higher Ed Audio Conference, July 17, 2007

Self-command & collaborate

Portable career

Freedom, fun, fulfillment

Will go where the right lifestyle fit exists

Job changing is not bad and may be necessary

Sorry to interrupt again, but how am I doing?

Top down hierarchy unappealing

May move on despite tenure

Where is the fun?

May move on for the right “fit”

No stigma, just reality

Transparency matter; Up or out after six years?

Key Factors in Job ChoiceFrom: Trower, Cathy A. How to Recruit a Gen-X Faculty Member, Inside Higher Ed Audio

Conference, July 17, 2007

• Whether the position is tenure-track or non-tenure-track

• Contact length • Mix of work between teaching and research • Salary • Prospects of tenure or contract renewal • Department quality/ranking • Institutional prestige • Geographic location of the institution

• Trower’s research shows that WHAT and WHERE matter more than prestige and salary.

• For attractively situated institutions, no sweat... • For less so, market the location (just like we do

with students!)• Offer an appealing balance of work

• From: Trower, Cathy A. How to Recruit a Gen-X Faculty Member, Inside Higher Ed Audio Conference, July 17, 2007

Post-Search

Search Committee Responsibilities Post-Search

• Continue contact– Sequence of mailings/calls/emails

• Assistance in Resettlement• Assistance in Transition to TWU (e.g., paperwork, benefit

questions)• Introductions to the University/College/Department• “Socialization” into your departmental culture• Mentoring…..

Key Factors in New Faculty Retention

– Clarity surrounding… Tenure process, criteria, standards, body of evidence Expectations for scholarship, teaching, advising,

colleagueship, campus citizenship

– Reasonable and consistent performance expectations

– A climate, culture supporting great work – collegiality

– Quality of life on the job and off

– Workload equity

– Professional development and support

Quality of Life Factors for New Faculty

• Where?– Desirable location

• What?– Balance: personal and professional

• With whom?– Colleagueship, harmonious work life, minimal

political squabbles, minimal administrivia