blanca lupiani - dof€¦ · blanca lupiani dean of faculties and associate provost. professor,...

Search Committee Training

Blanca LupianiDean of Faculties and Associate Provost

Professor, Veterinary PathobiologySpring 2019

Today’s agenda1. Essential resources2. Institutional data3. Diversity4. Developing a search plan5. Search committee6. Position announcement/ad7. Evaluating the candidates8. Phone interviews9. Campus visit10. Evaluation of finalists11. Closing the deal12. Start retention

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Before we start: essential resources• Dean of Faculties Hiring guidelines and Forms

• http://dof.tamu.edu/Hiring• University Rule 12.99.99.M1

• http://rules-saps.tamu.edu/PDFs/12.99.99.M1.pdf• Recruitment and Retention for Faculty Diversity: A Handbook

for Search Committees• http://dof.tamu.edu/dof/media/PITO-

DOF/Documents/Guidelines/handbooks/search_comm_handbook.pdf• Guidelines on Faculty Hiring Process

• http://dof.tamu.edu/dof/media/PITO-DOF/Documents/Guidelines/hiring/guidelines_for_hiring_faculty.pdf

• Offer letter Guidelines• http://dof.tamu.edu/dof/media/PITO-

DOF/Documents/Guidelines/hiring/offer_letter_guidelines.pdf

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Institutional data

47%53%

Student Sex

FemaleMale

36%

63%

1%

Faculty Sex

FemaleMaleUnknown

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Institutional data

15%4%6%

69%

6%

Faculty Race/Ethnicity

AsianBlack/AAHispanic/LatinoWhiteOther

8% 3%

21%

56%

12%

Students Race/Ethnicity

AsianBlack/AAHispanic/LatinoWhiteOther

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Why is diversity important?• It gives us access to talent currently not represented• More perspectives are taken into account in

devising solutions to problems• Diverse faculty/administrators serve as role models

for a diverse student body• We potentially exclude individuals of excellence

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Recruitment of excellent diverse faculty – it takes a village

• Enhancing diversity enhances excellence

• Overcoming unintentional biases in the recruitment process

• Creating positive department climate increases successful recruitment and retention

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Successful faculty search

“Good search practices result in a good hire, and they are fair to women and men, underrepresented and majority candidates”

(University of Rhode Island Faculty Recruitment Handbook)8

Develop a search plan

• Development of a robust Search Plan with Active Recruitment Strategies is essential for a successful search

• Provide search committee with candidate availability data to help with the completion of their Search Plan

• Search committee should craft their Search Plan

http://facultyhiring.uoregon.edu/9

http://facultyhiring.uoregon.edu/

Develop a search plan1. What are the defined search timelines?2. How did you establish a diverse and inclusive search

committee?3. What is your plan for meeting the search

committee/STRIDE training requirement for committee members?

4. What is your advertising plan? 5. What are your active recruitment strategies?



Forming the search committee“Search committees should include members with different perspectives and

expertise, and with a demonstrated commitment to diversity.”• Representative

• Within department (Staff is part of the search, too!)• External constituencies?

• Diverse• Title/rank, Focus areas, Demographic

• Can lead to conversations that expand the definition of “strong candidate”

• Increases professional network and can contribute to a diverse candidate pool

• Can draw stronger consideration of under represented (UR) candidates

https://advance.umich.edu11

Develop a search plan3. What is your plan for meeting the search

committee/STRIDE training requirement for committee members? a. Have search committee members attended an

search committee/STRIDE training within the last two years?

b. If not, what are you plans to ensure this training occurs prior to beginning candidates’ reviews?



Develop a search plan4. What is your advertising plan?

a. How will you use your candidate availability data to identify a need to engage in targeted outreach to any underrepresented groups?

b. Describe your plan for advertising in the most appropriate locations



The advertisement• Required

• National Professional Organization Journal• Additional online recruiting resources

• HigherEdJobs.com• Workplace Diversity

• Contact Human Resources for postings• Chronicle of Higher Education• Veterans and disability sites

• ListServes• See DoF Search Committee Handbook

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Develop a search plan5. What are your Active Recruitment strategies?

a) Conference outreachb) Contacting professional associations with subgroups

for women and underrepresented minorities c) Outreach to influential people in the field who are

known for mentoring diverse graduate students, post-docs, and junior faculty members



Always be recruitingRecruiting begins before you have a position (Active Recruitment)• Pre-interview promising scholars at conferences to encourage

entry into academia and to apply to Texas A&M• Actively pursue candidates thriving at less well-ranked

institutions• Ask colleagues at other institutions for names of promising

candidates• Caution: No need to reproduce yourself, do not reinforce pedigree,

advisor, prestige

• Widen the pool from which you recruit16

• Advertise for longer than 30 days• Ask faculty and graduate students to help identify women

and minority candidates• Contact colleagues at other institutions to seek

nominations• Make personal contacts with women and minority

candidates• Contact successful faculty at smaller institutions• Place announcements in media aimed specifically at

underrepresented minorities and women

To increase diversity in the applicant pool…

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Defining a faculty position• Tenure-related searches affect the future of the

department and the university for decades to come• Defining the position has long-term implications• Discussion of an upcoming faculty positions is an

opportunity to review current and future directions within the discipline/professional field and the department

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Position announcement/ad


• It provides a description of the position for which the department is searching, making clear the educational and experiential qualifications required or desired

• It serves as an initial means of marketing the position to prospective candidates, and is therefore a critical tool for generating interest in the position

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Position announcement• Marketing the position

• Make announcement clear and focused• Convey department directions and initiatives• Provide context as to how the position fits within the

larger organization• Address the importance of diversity to the position and

institution• Describe the benefits of the community as inclusive as

possible


Writing the position description/ad

“Define the position in the widest possible terms consistent with the department’s needs. […] Make sure that the position description does not needlessly limit the pool of applicants.Some position descriptions may unintentionally exclude female or minority candidates by focusing too narrowly on subfields in which few specialize.”

(Univ. of Michigan Faculty Hiring Handbook)21

University diversity commitment

http://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/diversity/equity_inclusion/diversity_statements_writing.html22

http://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/diversity/equity_inclusion/diversity_statements_writing.html

Inclusive statement models• “The [dept.] is especially interested in qualified candidates who can

contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community. [TAMU] is responsive to the needs of dual career couples. Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.” (UMich)

• “The [College] at Texas A&M University values, nurtures, and respects all members of its community and ensures an environment of inclusive excellence where all students, faculty, and staff are inspired and empowered to achieve their full potential. Texas A&M University is an EEOAA employer fully committed to achieving a diverse work force. All individuals, including minorities, individuals with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply.” (Purdue)

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All of us – men and women – perceive and treat people differently based on their social groups (schemas, stereotypes)

This is implicit or unintentional bias

Mental models

Analysis of audition records of 14,000 musicians for positions in major US symphony orchestras during 1970-1996:

• Use of blind auditions increases the probability that a woman will advance from preliminary rounds by 50%

• Roster data from 11 major orchestras show the switch to blind auditions accounts for 30% of the increase in the proportion of women among new hires

Orchestrating impartiality: The impact of “blind” auditions on female musicians

Goldin & Rouse (2000) The American Economic Review, 90(4), 715-741.

Implicit bias

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL9__gD88xk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZHxFU7TYo4&feature=plcp

Thoughtful evaluation of candidates• Develop a rubric or evaluation tool to guide evaluations, making

sure to include criteria related to contributions to equity, diversity and inclusion

• Review implicit bias training materials before discussion of candidates

• Focus the evaluation on the criteria that was established in the Position Description• The committee should be discussing and evaluating the exact same

criteria for each candidate• If deliberations reveal that additional criteria are being taken into

account, adjust the criteria for evaluating all of the candidates in a manner that is clear to all search committee members

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Thoughtful evaluation of candidates• Budget sufficient time to fully discuss and evaluate

candidates• Time-pressured deliberations can contribute to biased

judgments• Take contemporaneous notes at all stages of review• Try to spend equal time on each candidate• If the short list pool looks different than the applicant pool,

assess whether talented candidates were inadvertently overlooked

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Thoughtful evaluation of candidatesSteps to maintain a diverse pool• Work to minimize the effects of unconscious and conscious

stereotypes• Consider candidates who have non-traditional educational

or employment history• Consider candidates who have excelled at their research in

less-highly-ranked departments• Do not make assumptions about a person’s willingness to

move• Be careful of unsubstantiated information (rumors,

prejudgments, etc.)29

• Under time pressure• When the task involves ambiguity• When information is incomplete• Non-verbal automatic processes

• e.g. creating yes/no piles of CVs

Bertrand et al (2005) American Economic Review, 95 (2), 94-98.

When are implicit biases most likely to operate?

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Use an evaluation tool

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Diversity statement• Consider a diversity statement from candidates

• Opportunity for applicants to discuss:• Experiences (past), Perspective (current), Vision

(future) related to diversity, equity, and inclusion• Have they done their homework: diversity.tamu.edu?

• Evaluate (rate/qualitatively) each moment separately

• Red, Yellow, Green ratings with qualitative feedback

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Pre-interview tips• Consider conducting phone interviews with high number

of candidates before inviting finalists to campus• Commit to interviewing more than one female and/or

minority candidate• Consider inviting more than three candidates to campus• Submit Search Plan and Applicant Pool for certification by

Dean• Dean must approve the list of finalists

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Checking references• Phone references from candidate’s reference list

• Design a clear and well structure process for contacting references:

• Prepare uniform questions ahead of time

• Include multiple search committee members in reference check

• Ask for specific examples based on selection criteria• Contact multiple references• Reconfirm negative information (especially if

unsolicited)34

Host an effective campus visit• Consistency in the campus visit is very important• Candidates should be asked the same interview

questions, be provided the same opportunities to share their scholarly and teaching credentials, and generally receive the same high degree of welcome and attention during their visit



Host an effective campus visit• ”Consistency” does not mean “exactly the same”• Some candidates will have ample opportunity to meet with

potential colleagues who share salient demographic characteristics and interests (e.g., white candidates in predominately white departments; male candidates in predominately male departments)

• Unless specifically built into the process, underrepresented candidates often do not have the same opportunity to learn about the common experience of those who share their salient demographic characteristics or interests



Host an effective visit• Avoid leaving candidates alone with faculty who may

be hostile to hiring women and underrepresented minorities

• If a candidate is confronted with racist, sexist, or homophobic remarks, take positive and assertive steps to defuse the situation

• Be sure there is a practice in place in the department for dealing with the expression of racist, sexist, or homophobic attitudes, and that the candidate is made aware of it, if the situation arises (UMich)

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About dual-career candidates• Academic women are more likely to be partnered with

other academics than academic men are• This means that disadvantages that affect two-career

academic couples have a disproportionate impact on women

• At the same time, recognize that there is variability among women in their personal and household circumstances

• Do not assume one household type (e.g., a husband and children) applies to all women (UMich)

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This university and department are really supportive of my partner’s job search.

Do you have a partner who will be coming on the visit and might want to learn more about job options here?

This is a friendly department where everyone helps one another out.

“I might choose to live in a different place from my husband. I was not treated equally.”

“I got nonstop questions about family issues from the faculty. Nobody asked my husband about family issues.”

“Obviously they didn’t want to offer a job to someone who was going to have a problem.”

https://advance.umich.edu39

Evaluation of finalists


• Faculty and committee should meet as soon as possible after the completion of the interviews so that information is fresh, and candidates are contacted in a timely manner

• It is critical that candidates continue to be evaluated using the original selection criteria that were developed earlier in the process

• When providing a list of recommended top candidates to the department head or dean, submit an unranked list with a detailed description of strengths and concerns

• Decide how to proceed if the top candidate does not accept the offer• Having a clear plan in place can ensure thoughtful decision making

should the initial plan fall through


Closing the deal!

• The department head• Department staff• Faculty and search committee should stay engaged• Dual-Career program, Office of the Dean of

Faculties

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Your role in promoting facultyexcellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion

• Recruitment of diverse faculty is not enough• You are responsible for developing and maintaining a climate

of equity and inclusion in which all faculty can reach their highest potential

• Diverse faculty have a significant impact on achieving university goals:• Transformational Learning• Discovery and Innovation• Impact upon the state of Texas, the nation and the world

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Discussion