Faculty Search Resources

Every search must submit a Faculty Search Questionnaire at its conclusion. The primary responsibility of the diversity representative is to partner with the search chair to account for the demographic result of the search and to insure that all committee members are informed of resources pertaining to search Best Practices. A diversity representative will work to develop a robust pool of candidates and an inclusive committee and departmental discussion of the process.

To begin, the Provost’s Office website and the Office of Institutional Equity and Access website provide excellent Faculty Search Committee Resources. In the Office of the Dean of the FAS, we recommend these steps to organize an effective search:

• Every committee must have an appointed diversity representative. The primary responsibility of the diversity representative is to partner with the search chair to insure that all committee members are aware and informed of resources pertaining to implicit bias and search Best Practices. Those Best Practices for Faculty and Leadership Searches are outlined here.
• In order to complete your search and the required FSQ, there will need to be a record of the diversity representative’s having received training from the FAS Dean of Diversity and Faculty Development. Individual diversity representatives should contact the DDFD as early as possible in the search process.
• Note that diversity is not simply a demographic question. As outlined in the Best Practices document, diversity should be integrated as a part of the strategic vision for the search.
• Diversity representatives should write every search committee member and ask if they have tested for implicit bias. If they have not, they should take one of the quizzes offered here.
• The diversity representative might want to circulate to search committee members this excellent article by our colleague Jenn Richeson, “More Diverse Yet Less Tolerant? How the Increasingly Diverse Racial Landscape Affects White Americans’ Racial Attitudes.” There is an abundance of scholarship addressing questions of bias and racial attitudes and engaging that scholarship might be one way to inaugurate conversations about diversity in the search committee. This Reading List recommends other pertinent works on diversity in higher education. If the diversity representative decides to organize a discussion around a particular book, they may, in consultation with the relevant department chair, apply for a departmental diversity and faculty development grant.
• It is not enough to post and advertisement for a position and assume an excellent applicant pool will appear. This document offers strategies for generating diverse and inclusive candidate pools.
• Once you begin to interview candidates, individual search committee members must be mindful about appropriate interview questions. This document offers a guide to unacceptable interview questions.
• When the search is complete, the diversity representative, search chair, and department chair prepare the FSQ. Any questions about how to complete this document should be directed to the DDFD.