The following sections are summaries of the associated articles,
which can be accessed by clicking the links in the title of each section.
which can be accessed by clicking the links in the title of each section.
Recruitment
Article: Resources and Strategies for Recruiting a Diverse Faculty
Author: David Mogk, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Montana State University
Key points:
Author: David Mogk, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Montana State University
Key points:
- The first way to recruit diverse candidates is to cast your net widely and outside of your typical realm of job boards. It takes time to search for listservs for diverse populations groups. Do your research on what fields may be complementary to the position you are hiring for, and advertise there as well.
- Proactively use inclusive language in both the required job posting language (e.g., equal opportunity employer statement), but also in the details of the posting (e.g., a preferred qualification of "evidence of effective engagement with diverse audiences within and outside the University").
- During an on-campus interview, afford all candidates (not just ones who satisify a DEI checkbox) the opportunity to meet with a diverse population of faculty/staff internal and external to the department.
Diversity Job Boards
This is a GitHub Resource list for a list of job boards and organizations that promote diversity and inclusion.
Key Points:
Key Points:
- Many of the postings are geared toward STEM fields, especially technology
- The job boards are broken into focus areas, although there may be some obvious overlap between boards
- A wide range of DEI groups--ranging from gender to ability to veterans--are included in the organizations listed
Search Committees
Article: Searching for a Diverse Faculty: Data-Driven Recommendations
Authors: Angelica Stacy, Marc Goulden, Karie Frasch, Janet Broughton, University of California Berkeley
Institution: UC Berkeley Office of Faculty Equity and Welfare
Key Points: Although this is primarily focused on Berkeley's hiring practices, there are several key takeaways in the sections titled "Very Promising Search Practices" and "Promising Search Practices."
Authors: Angelica Stacy, Marc Goulden, Karie Frasch, Janet Broughton, University of California Berkeley
Institution: UC Berkeley Office of Faculty Equity and Welfare
Key Points: Although this is primarily focused on Berkeley's hiring practices, there are several key takeaways in the sections titled "Very Promising Search Practices" and "Promising Search Practices."
- The strongest DEI indicator in diverse applicant pools for job searches was the shaping of the job description. Two methods of shaping the job description particularly stood out as relevant to all academic fields:
- Linking the position to issues of gender, race, or ethnicity (e.g., "labor and women's history" rather than "labor history")
- Linking the position to public or engaged scholarship (e.g., "Infectious disease is intrinsically an area that affects human health directly, and via food and water security, issues of broad public concern")
- Other search practices of note were the following:
- Including women and URM (underrepresented minority) faculty on search committees
- Engaging Faculty Equity Advisors (a position specific to UC Berkeley, but the concept can be extended elsewhere; see the subsequent article for more details) to increase the social accountability of hiring committees
- Creating diversity plans at the search, departmental, and school level
Equity Advisory Role
Institution: UC Berkeley Office of Faculty Equity and Welfare
Key Points: Although this position is sponsored by UC Berkeley, the role of Equity Advisor (EA) has relevance in many areas. The EA should be involved in all discussions about the hiring process, from initial request through the interview process, and in particular, serve as a monitor for the search process to ensure equitable treatment of all candidates.
Key Points: Although this position is sponsored by UC Berkeley, the role of Equity Advisor (EA) has relevance in many areas. The EA should be involved in all discussions about the hiring process, from initial request through the interview process, and in particular, serve as a monitor for the search process to ensure equitable treatment of all candidates.
- Faculty position requests
- EA should be a part of all conversations regarding position request, including the direction of the department, the hiring goals, and how the hire would fit with SNHU priorities around teaching, service, and research.
- Conversations with the EA will help illuminate where the department currently stands with respect to diversity markers, and where improvement is need. These conversations can help guide the trajectory of the hiring process.
- Consultant and support to search committees
- As a consultant, the EA should advocate for evidence-based evaluation tools and selection criteria include contributions to diversity.
- UC Berkeley has a published document for hiring committees; this details authority and roles during the search process, examples of proactive efforts to attract a diverse pool of candidates, and guidelines for a fair and equitable evaluation process. This guide can be found here.
- The EA should also be available as support for committees around tricky issues or difficulty situations, such as: committee members who feel marginalized or pressured, apparent un-fair elimination of candidates, failure to follow planned efforts, faculty who strongly advocate for/against a particular candidate, conflict of interest, etc.
- Monitor for search and process
- The EA is not the "search police" or a "rubber stamper"; the EA should either be on the committee or a member of the search committee should serve as a liaison to the EA.
- Review applicant pool at reasonable steps (long list to short list, short list to campus interviews); if proactive outreach efforts are truly successful, then the diversity of the applicant pool should be reflected in the availability pool at each step. If not, review files of other applicants( particular those under serious consideration) to determine if additional consideration or advocacy is warranted.
- The EA is not the "search police" or a "rubber stamper"; the EA should either be on the committee or a member of the search committee should serve as a liaison to the EA.
- Liaison to Office of Faculty Equity and Welfare (which exists at UC Berkeley, and a concept office is in progress at SNHU)
- Be on the look out for bias. Be aware of the types of reasons typically presented when there are a lack of women or underrepresented minorities (URM) on the short list. These include:
- Recent hiring patterns of the department (e.g., the short list is only men, but the recent hires have all been men)
- Assessment of a candidate relies on a "holistic assessment rather than evaluation based on an agreed-upon criteria (e.g., "rising star")
- Only quick assessment on standout features in application is made rather than careful evaluation
- Giving differing rank or assessment of women/URM based on precision of search field (e.g., if a narrow search field is given but women/URM are evaluated on material slightly outside that field as compared to men)
- Inequitable concerns over possibility of spousal/partner/family issues for women candidates
- Competitive women and URM candidates are lost to other institutions because the unit moved too slowly
- Be on the look out for bias. Be aware of the types of reasons typically presented when there are a lack of women or underrepresented minorities (URM) on the short list. These include:
