Department Equity Advisors have a number of formal roles in the faculty search process, from FTE position requests to the development of search plans, review and selection of candidates, and assessment of the overall search process. They also serve as a consultant and support for the search committee. OFEW is available to consult with Equity Advisors at any time during the faculty search process. Some situations, particularly those of a potential legal nature, should be brought to OFEW’s attention quickly.
Participation around new FTE requests and position specifications
- Equity Advisors should participate in discussions about the direction of the department and its strategic hiring goals.
Consultant to search committees on search and evaluation processes
- Be sure the committee understands the Equity Advisor role in the search, particularly regarding the search plan, applicant pool, short list, and search report (see Monitoring section below).
- Review information in the Senate Search Guide – committees should address all areas of review and evaluation before the search begins.
- Suggest effective outreach methods to achieve broad and diverse applicant pools, and participate in outreach activities.
- Suggest best practices evaluation processes and tools that require committee members to back up opinions with evidence, and participate in evaluation activities.
Monitoring search processes and outcomes
- Equity Advisors have an important role in the development of the search plan and the implementation of the search process - do not feel pressured to sign off on steps prior to your full review and consideration.
- Serve on the search committee or be an advisor to the search committee. If the Equity Advisor is not a member of the search committee, one member must serve as the liaison to the Equity Advisor. The liaison will play the active role in the search, and consult with the department Equity Advisor as needed.
- Consult with the chair or dean of the department or school to ensure that each search committee is committed to implementing a fair search process that reflects the intentions of the campus allocated FTE.
- Review the aggregated, anonymous demographic diversity of the availability pool and the applicant pool. The search can be extended if initial efforts do not result in a broad and diverse pool of candidates. Sign off on the Applicant Pool if you feel that the outreach efforts and resulting pool is sufficient.
- Support the committee with difficult situations, for example: Unsolicited information, faculty who advocate inequitably for or against a single candidate, conflicts of interest, deselection that appears unfair, failure to follow the approved search plan, committee members who feel marginalized or pressured, missing strong candidates who straddle more than one subfield, concerns about how candidates are treated during campus visits, etc.
- If possible, attend the meeting where the long list is discussed to determine the short list (if not already serving as a member of the committee) to ensure that fair processes for discussion of candidate qualifications are used.
- Sign off on the Short List if you feel that fair and equitable evaluation practices were used to select the finalists.
- Sign off on the Search Report if you feel that a fair and equitable search was conducted.