Janis TerpennyAssociate ProfessorEngineering Education & Mechanical EngineeringAffiliate of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Director, NSF Center for e-DesignAdvance Professor Diggs Teaching ScholarDean’s Faculty Fellow

Recruitment and Search Committee Practices

Highlights of Major Strategies

Increase Awareness and Skills of Search Committees– Meetings, Materials, Skits

Meetings with Candidates and Advance Representative– Informed (and Confidential) Answers to

Questions Materials to Candidates

Best Practices for Diverse Hiring

Advance VT

Beate Schmittmann

Mechanical Engineering DepartmentJanuary 28, 2005

Points for Discussion:

Preface

Why diverse hiring?

Best practices: – Reviewing dossiers– Unintentional bias– High touch interviews

References

Questions and discussion

Preface:

EO Office has primary oversight of the search process.

Best faith effort counts.

Resources: – AdvanceVT– Dean’s and Provost’s Office– EO Office

The bottom line Catalyst study:

Gender diversity and financial performance for 353 Fortune 500 companies (5 industries, 1996-2000):

Companies with highest representation of women on their top management teams had

– 35.1 % higher ROE (return on equity)– 34.0 % higher TRS (total return to shareholders)

than companies with lowest representation of women.

The pool: women

2001: 9.6% of doctorates were awarded to women

8.6% of postdocs were women

Doctorates awarded in Mechanical Engineering

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

All

Men

Women

The pool: minoritiesDoctorates awarded to U.S. citizens in

Mechanical Engineering

0

100

200

300

400

500

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004

All

Minorities

Series1

2001: 1 Am. Indian/Alaskan 32 Asian/ Pacific Isl.

16 Black 10 Hispanic

Faculty searches: the challenges…

Conduct searches thoroughly and professionally.

Attract outstanding candidates.

Give women and ethnic minorities fair consideration.

Construct a competitive and affordable offer.

“It did help that there are two other women in my department, that played a big role actually, because at the other schools I interviewed at, I would’ve been the first and only woman......I felt like I didn’t want to be the first woman in a department at other schools…”

2004 S&E Hire

… and how you meet them:

Cast the net broadly.

Review dossiers carefully.

Conduct a candidate-centered, “high-touch” on-campus interview.

Follow up after the interview.

Unintentional bias

Whose vita is more impressive? (Steinpreis, 1999)

What do these reference letters tell us?(Trix & Psenka, 2003)

Who is more productive? (Wenneras & Wold, 1997)

We will never be able to attract this person!(Smith, 2000)

The interview

Equitable AND customized

Request candidate input

No illegal questions

Sell your department, VT, and Blacksburg

How to approach sensitive issues

Follow up with your candidates

Clarify communication paths:

Chocolate works!

“The sense that I got, not just from what we worked out, but from the way the conversation went was that the chair was committed to doing what it took for me to be productive here, that attitude was very important to me.”

2004 S&E Hire

CandidateDepartment

Department Head

SearchCommittee

Dean

04/19/23 AdvanceVT Assessment 15

What attracted new faculty to Virginia Tech?

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Research Match

DeptAtmosphere

PreviousPositive Contact

Percentage of Respondents

2003 hires: The majority of responses fell into three categories:

“Ranking of course had a big influence on the decision. Probably, however, more than that, during my interview, I really liked all the people I met.”

- New Faculty Hire, 2003

What went well during the hiring process?

73 % (8) new faculty members felt that it was conveyed to them that their departments were positive and supportive work environments.

The ability to network with current faculty members was an important element of the interview process for 36% (4) of new faculty.

The department’s willingness to help with spouse employment was also important to 36% (4) of those interviewed.

Resources and References

AdvanceVT/OEO “Bias Brochure”

NSF statistical reports and tables

Resources at Hunter College site

Local Resources

Dual career issues are frequent in a town like Blacksburg

“When I interviewed here I made it very clear that I could not come unless there was something for my spouse. He had a tenured position at X and to leave that without something here for him was just not an acceptable option.”

2004 S&E Hire

1. Inform candidates: create links to guidelines, distribute brochures

2. Identify Possibilities: get candidate’s suggestions, discuss with Provost’s Office and Deans

3. Target Unit: initiates and evaluates potential hire; standard review process

Cases where funding is available: need to develop appropriate job description; exemption request must be approved by DH, Dean, and EO Office

Cases where new position must be allocated: position may be shared between hiring dept, receiving dept, and Provost (bridge funding may be available)

Family status of tenured professors

Women

26%

11%

19%

44%

Married & Children Married, no children

Single & children Single, no children

Men

4%11%

15%

70%

Chronicle of Higher Education, December 5, 2003