Recruiting a Diverse Faculty

1
Recruiting a Diverse Faculty

• Janie Fouke
• Michigan State University
• ASEE Annual Conference
• June 18, 2002

2
Truth in Advertising

• Assuming you Value a Diverse Faculty
• The View from the Tower
• Informed by Experience in the Trenches
• Not limited to Civil Engineering

3
Goals/Metrics

• Do you have them?
• Who owns (buys into) them?
• Write them down
• Disseminate them

4
Speaking of goals . . .

• Whats your goal for a particular search?
• To fill a position? (your secondary goal!)
• The primary goal For every single applicant to
  be favorably impressed with your institution!
• Communications/logistics/intellectual
  opportunities/students/colleagues/support staff

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And to accomplish that?

• Review your written material
• Review your processes
• What about the logistics?
• Provide a refresher to avoid illegal
  questions/topics (faculty/students/staff)
• Where is the Womens Room?

6
If its not somebodys problem, its nobodys
problem.

• So whose annual review gets linked to those goals?

7
Composition of the Search Committee

• Rate limiting element
• Composed solely of faculty where position will be
  assigned?
• Too narrow view vs. strongest vested interest
• Diversity representation?
• Leadership

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Position description

• Who determines it?
• Dean, Dept chair, committee/interdisciplinary
  group
• How narrow should it be?
• Balance between intellectual focus and diversity
  goals
• What do you sell?
• Serenity of the campus/local school
  system/multi-disciplinary resources/spousal
  hiring

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After the Position is Described

• Deadline or open until filled
• Wiggle room vs teaching need
• How do you disseminate it?
• WEB
• Who really uses the description?
• Surprisingly important question

10
Search vs. Sort Committees

• Most search and rating committees simply sort
  the applications
• Sort too closely to the job description and you
  may miss a gem
• Sort too closely against a traditional background
  and you may miss a gem
• Searching is much harder work

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Searching

• Get on the WEB, the telephone
• Speak to people at conferences
• Focused effort is especially critical to meet
  diversity goals
• Advertisements do very little to identify well
  matched people

12
Timing of the search

• Depends on the level of person (more
  seniorgreater flexibility)
• Stronger candidates typically interview earlier
  in the academic year
• The deadline should mark the end (NOT the
  beginning) of the resume evaluations!

13
Certifying the pool

• If the applicant pool is not diverse, it will be
  a challenge to build a diverse faculty
• The Search Committee must defend the composition
  of the pool
• If this is evaluated after the deadline, every
  added candidate, no matter now qualified, is
  tainted

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Ranking the candidates?

• Never! (I dont want to see votes either!)
• Evaluate each of them
• What does s/he bring to the program?
• What obstacles will s/he encounter?
• How would each complement/extend previous
  investments?
• Who are the natural partners on campus?
• Is there an obvious mentor?

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Who to interview?

• Best matches to the position description
• People who intrigue you (?)
• Highly accomplished people who only vaguely match
  the description (?)
• The most accomplished of the folks from
  historically underrepresented groups (?)
• References before interviews!

16
The only way to get comfortable looking at
someone who looks different is to look at someone
who looks different
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Candidates invitation to interview

• Very soon after the deadline
• Another chance to sell the excitement
• Put the two career language in the letter
• Tell him/her what to expect
• Teach a class, give a seminar, spend two days,
  only on Thursdays, reimbursement info, etc

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The interview

• Compose schedule from the partners list
• Have the seminar first
• Leave time for the candidate to make notes
• Be sure the mechanics are smooth
• Give everyone on the agenda a final schedule at
  least a week in advance

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More on interviews

• Does the candidate have a request?
• Complete interviews in 2-4 weeks
• Keep people informed of the process
• Get feedback from the participants
• Look for leverage opportunities
• Write evaluation memo

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Out of your hands!

• Chairs should keep candidates informed
• Delays caused by things you cant control
• Issues include appointment levels, start-up
  packages, access to resources, cooperation from
  other entities, etc

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Out of your hands (redoux!)

• Steady state hiring (25 person department)
• With a stable budget (a little humor), 1 per
  year?
• Conclusion?
• You cant do it alone!
• You must be leveraging from a larger pool of
  faculty slots.
• Implication for the College? The University?

22
What is the role of climate?

• If the climate is hostile, its difficult to hide
• How do you provide a setting for them to get
  frank answers to questions?
• A committee, a booklet?
• Does someone need to be neutralized?

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Set the tone by treating everyone with dignity
all the time
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Out of your hands (re-redoux)!

• Offers made before you finish interviewing the
  entire pool
• Serial vs parallel offers
• Coupled offers
• Spousal hiring

25
MSU Status

• African American/Hispanic/Chicano
• Every department meets (all but one EXCEEDS)
  faculty availability
• Committed for fall 1/11 new faculty
• Women
• Currently 8/125 faculty
• Committed for fall 4/11 new faculty
• Offers pending 1/3 new faculty

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Have we met our goals?

• Almost
• Distribution is a concern
• Now for our next goals . . .

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WACADAD

• Words are cheap and deeds are dear!