University of LouisvilleSearch Manual

Achieving Excellence: A Guide for Search Committees at the University of Louisville

Compiled byV. Faye Jones, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.P.H. Assistant Vice President for Health Affairs Diversity Initiatives and Inclusion, and Michael L. Rowland, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Diversity Initiatives, University of Louisville School of Medicine.

This document is reproduced and adapted with permission from WISELI: Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute® at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. It is based on the following publication:

Eve Fine and Jo Handelsman, Searching for Excellence & Diversity: A Guide for Search Committees, a guide developed by the Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) at the University of Wisconsin Madison as part of the ADVANCE grant.Copyright ©2012 BY WISELIand the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

Permission for use of that guide was given to the University of Louisville on August 9, 2013.

Table of Contents

Introduction – Diversity Goals and Mission

Essential Elements of a Successful Search

  1. Running an effective and efficient search committee
  1. Strategies for recruiting an excellent and diverse pool of applicants
  1. Raising awareness of unconscious assumptions and their influence

on evaluation of applicants

  1. Ensuring a fair and thorough review of applicants
  1. Develop and implement an effective interview process
  1. Close the deal: Successfully hire your selected candidate

Additional Resources

INTRODUCTION

“The University of Louisville strives to foster and sustain an environment of inclusiveness that empowers us all to achieve our highest potential without fear of prejudice or bias. We commit ourselves to building an exemplary educational community that offers a nurturing and challenging intellectual climate, a respect for the spectrum of human diversity, and a genuine understanding of the many differences-including race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, and religion-that enrich a vibrant metropolitan research university. We expect every member of our academic family to embrace the underlying values of this vision and to demonstrate a strong commitment to attracting, retaining, and supporting students, faculty, and staff who reflect the diversity of our larger society.”

University of Louisville Diversity Vision Statement

We believe that diversity in one’s perspectives, life experiences, varied intellectual approaches and cultural influences contributes to the intellectual richness of our university. We wish to create a community of engagement where everyone feels respected and valued ensuring that every individual thrives and able to capitalize on their scholarship and intellectual contributions.

The recruitment of a diverse workforce is critical to the University’s pursuit of excellence;therefore, it should be the duty of all members of the search committee toadvance the university’s commitment to the principles of diversity and equal employment opportunity by pursuing and engagingexemplary scholars from diverse backgrounds to become part of the University of Louisville community.

The goals ofeach search are:

  • To recruit the best person for the position
  • To represent the University of Louisville to all candidates—successful and otherwise—as an attractive and welcoming community where he/she would thrive.

We expect each committee member to actively participate in the total process that is needed to have a successful search. Although many assume that participating on a search committee is intuitive, research has shown that education of search committee members can increase the success of the search. The structured educational process can help the members focus on information that is relevant for the designated job in question instead of frivolous distractions. Education on unconscious bias can reduce its influence resulting in a more diverse pool in which to choose and secure the best person for our school.

The materials that follow provide guidance from experienced and successful search committee chairs and from research and advice literature on academic search strategies.

It is expected that you will modify, adjust, and/or adapt these recommendations in accordance with such factors as the size of your search committee and pool of candidates, the breadth of areas encompassed in the position description, and the standards of your discipline.

RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT SEARCH COMMITTEE

  1. Before the Search Committee Meets
  2. Build a diverse search committee

A committee composed of diverse members can benefit from a variety of perspectives and new ideas each member provides. It is highly recommended to include women and members of underrepresented minority groups the on search committee. Some search committees also increase diversity by adding graduate students, members of the department’s research staff, faculty members from external but related departments, and/or professionals working in related industries. It should be stated that every member of the committee needs to be responsible for recruiting diverse and excellent applicants and conducting fair and equitable evaluations.

  1. Schedule your first meeting as soon as possible.

Hold your first committee meeting well before your application deadline to allow for the development of the position description, implementation of an effective recruitment plan and time to adequately discuss and establish criteria for evaluating applicants.

  1. Know and adhere to institutional policies and procedures and federal and state laws that govern the search process.

The following websites are available (as needed) for your review:

  • EEO/Affirmative Action Policy
  • Affirmative Action
  • Vietnam Era Veterans
  • Persons with Disabilities
  • Minorities and Women
  • Responsibilities for Implementation
  • 2012 EEO/Affirmative Action Plan (PDF)
  • EEO-related Recruitment Process Enhancements
  • Request for Search Waiver (PDF)
  • Labor Market Availability Percentage (PDF)
  1. Building rapport with committee members
  2. Gain the support of your committee members.

Emphasize the importance of each committee member and the essential role of each in the process. It is important that each member feels valued, motivated and has a sense of involvement in the process.

  • Begin with brief introductions to get committee members talking and comfortable with each other. Don’t make the assumption that everyone knows one another particularly if members are from diverse groups. Provide and use name tags until you are confident that all committee members know each other.
  • Be enthusiastic about the position, potential applicant pool, and composition of the search committee.
  • Be mindful that in this time of cost reductions, each position is valuedand it is up to the search committee to ensure that the best candidates are in the pool.
  • Stress that each committee member can put his or her stamp on the process by shaping the pool.
  • Appreciate each committee member for the critical role he or she is playing by helping to select future faculty/administrative staff who will represent the department and the university for years to come.
  • Actively involve all committee members in discussions and search procedures

Active involvement of each committee member will help reach a broader base of applicants and conduct more thorough evaluations. Try implementing the following strategies:

  • Look at each member while you are speaking
  • In the first meeting, engage in at least one exercise in which every committee member participates. This may be brainstorming about people to contact, discussion of characteristics you would like in the successful candidate, etc.
  • Note body language or speech habits of members to note if someone is trying unsuccessfully to speak and then give them an opening.
  • Be especially sensitive to interprofessional dynamics that prevent members from being full participates in the process.
  • Before leaving a topic, be sure to ask if there are any more comments, or specifically ask members of the committee who have not spoken if they agree with the conclusions or have anything to add. Be sure to do this in a way that implies you are asking because the committee values their opinion; try not to embarrass them or suggest that they need your help in being heard.
  • If you notice that a member of the committee does not speak at all, consider speaking with after the meeting. Let them know their work is appreciated and inquire if they feel comfortable in the meeting and if there is anything you can do to facilitate their participation.
  • Conduct efficient meetings

The first meeting shapes the attitudes of the committee members about the process and their role in it. Stress the importance of attendance at each meeting andthe need to do additional work outside of meeting times in order to have a successful search. Strategies for an efficient meeting include the following:

  • Present an agenda with time allotted to each topic and generally try to stick to the plan.
  • Begin by reviewing the agenda and asking if anything is missing. The committee can then obtain agreement on agenda items. If one committee member is digressing or dominating a discussion, gently and politely try to redirect thediscussion by referring back to the agenda.
  • If you deviate from your agenda or run over time, acknowledge it and give a reason so that your committee members feel that their time was well spent, that the meeting was not a random process, and that they can anticipate useful and well-run meetings in the future.
  • Try to end your meetings on time so that all committee members are present for the entire discussion.
  1. Tasks to accomplish in initial meeting
  2. Discuss and develop goals for the search and use the agreed upon goals to develop recruitment strategies and criteria for evaluating applicants.
  3. Discuss and establish ground rules for the committee
  4. Attendance: It is a good idea to require all search members to attend all search committee meetings and activities. The work of a search committee is cumulative and it can be very frustrating if a member who has missed one or more meetings raises issues and/or questions that have already been discussed at previous meetings. More importantly, evaluation of candidates can be hampered when one or more committee members have missed discussion of all candidates’ qualifications. In order to help search members attend all committee meetings, it is important to schedule meetings well in advance. If possible, establish a schedule of meetings at the outset.
  5. Decision-making: How will your committee make decisions? By consensus? By voting? It is important to determine this at the outset. Consensus may take longer to reach, but can lead to greater support for and comfort with decisions.
  6. Confidentiality and disclosure: Keep the discussions of the search committee focused and self-contained and avoid discussing specifics of the search outside the search committee until finalists are announced. This policy respects and protects the privacy of candidates and protects the committee or hiring group. While it is important to maintain confidentiality about search deliberations, it is equally important to share general information about the search with appropriate groups. The search committee should make reports that provide information about the stage of the search; recruitment strategies; the quality and general demographics of the applicant pool; the policies the search committee is relying on to conduct fair and equitable evaluations; the selection of finalists; and more.
  7. Other common ground rules: Rules may include turning off cell phones, routing pagers to an assistant, being on time, treating other committee members with respect even if there is a disagreement, etc. Whatever ground rules you establish should represent a consensus and should be accepted by the entire committee. They may need to be reviewed and updated periodically.
  8. Committee members need to be aware of what is expected of them in terms of attending meetings, building the candidate pool and evaluating candidates. Make sure your committee members know that participation in this search will require considerable time and effort.Some of the roles/expectations for search committee members include helping to:

•publicize the search

•recruit candidates

•develop evaluation

•criteria evaluate candidates

•develop interview questions interview candidates

•host candidates who interview on campus

•assure that the search process is fair and equitable

•maintain confidentiality

  1. Raise and discuss issues of diversity

Use the material on pages 13-16 and 18-19 of this document to guide your discussion.

  1. Discuss what “excellence” means for the position you are seeking to fill

Begin to discuss and build consensus about the qualities and qualifications needed for this position and about the relative weight of each criteria. In conducting this conversation, keep in mind the needs and desires not only of the individual members of the committee, but also the needs of the department as a whole and the institution. In addition on to traditional criteria such as degree attainment, field of research, publication record, and teaching experience, consider including evidence of successful experience mentoring, tutoring, or engaging with diverse populations and other criteria that matter to your department of institution. The Dean of the institution and/or the Chair of the department may provide guidance on the concept of excellence for a particular position. Rely on consensus to developjob descriptions, announcements, advertisements, formulation of interview questions and to structure your evaluation of candidates.

Resist the temptation to wait to develop evaluation criteria until after reviewing application materials. This may hamper the effectiveness of your recruiting activities and increase the possibility that individual search committee members will favor candidates for reasons not necessarily related to theneeds of the department or the position (e.g., “I know the advisor,” “I graduated from the same program,” “I work in a closely related research area”) and will develop or give preferential weight to evaluation criteria that benefit favored candidates. Be prepared to counter the argument that “we all know quality when we see it.” All too often, nebulous definitions of quality or excellence prime us to recognize quality in those who look and act similar to the majority of members already in an organization that hinder us from seeing excellence in those who differ in some way from the majority.

  1. Anticipating problems

Despite your best efforts to gain the support of your search committee and to actively involve them in the search process, meetings and search activities may not proceed as smoothly and effectively as anticipated. It may help to foresee problems and contemplate strategies for resolution. Consider seeking advice from your department chair or from past search committee chairs. Common problems that have identified are listed below, along with resources that may help you overcome them:

  • Resistance to efforts to enhance diversity
  • Allow all members of the search committee to voice their opinions and participate in a discussion on diversity and the search committee’s roles and responsibilities related to the recruitment and
  • Consider inviting someone with expertise on research documenting the value of diversity to your committee meetings (e.g., a representative of the diversity committee from your unit).
  • Remind your search committee that they represent the interests of the department as a whole and, in a broader context, the interests of the university.
  • Stress that failure to recruit and fairly evaluate a diverse pool of candidates may jeopardize the search; that it may be too late to address the issue when and if you are asked, “Why are there no women or minorities on your finalist list?”
  • One member dominates the meetings
  • Review and/or refer to the ground rules you established for your search committee meetings.
  • Implement advice from the :Dominant Participates” section of the UW Madison Office of Quality Improvement and Hunan Resource Development’s web resource, How to Lead Effective Meeting:
  • Power dynamics of the group prevent some members from fully participating

Although a search committee composed of a diverse group of individuals is recommended in order to incorporate diverse views and perspectives into the search process, it is important to recognize that differences in the status and power of the members of the search committee may influence the member’s participation. Junior faculty members, for example, may be reluctant to disagree with senior faculty members who may later evaluate them for tenure or promotion. Minority and/or women search committee members may not be comfortable if they are the only member of the search committee to advocate for minority and/or female candidates. Though minority and/or women search committee members can help you recruit a more diverse pool, it is not reasonable to expect them to be the only advocates for diversity. The search committee chair should evaluate the committee’s interactions to assess whether such power imbalances are influencing the search. If so, the chair can attempt to improve the group dynamics by:

  • Review/establish ground rules that encourage participation from all members.
  • Hold private conversations with relevant members of the search committee.
  • Account for varying styles of participation by relying upon a range of forums in which committee members can communicate their thoughts.
  1. Concluding meetings

a. Assign specific tasks to committee members.

b. Remind committee members of their assigned tasks.

c. Hold committee members accountable.

This document is reproduced and adapted from Searching for Excellence & Diversity: A Guide for Search Committees, National Edition (Copyright © 2012 by the Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute (WISELI) at the University of Wisconsin Madison).

STRATEGIES FOR RECRUITING AN EXCELLENT AND DIVERSE POOL OF APPLICANTS

  1. Pre-Search
  1. We should always provide a welcoming environment for anyone that may be interested in learning more about our university/ department or division. This starts with our websites, brochures and any other publicity materials that we distribute. Ensure that the materials present a positive picture. Are the materials inviting for diverse populations from a variety of backgrounds or targeted to a particular group?
  2. Invest in potential applicants’ careers early. Strategies may incorporate contacting persons of color and women who are one year from completion of their programs to inform them of upcoming job openings.
  3. Consider inviting persons of color and women from other institutions to department-sponsored symposia and provide a visiting scholar appointment to allow them to develop relationships with persons in the university.
  4. Continually look for nontraditional candidates. Look for candidates that may employed outside of academe desire a career change, may be well suited for a faculty position.

This document is based in part on: