Appendix A - The Role of the Search Compliance Representative
Serving as a search compliance representative means knowing procedures, policy and philosophy. Be creative, use the available resources, and don’t limit yourself to what has been done previously.
Search compliance representatives facilitate a search committee’s approach to the task of faculty search. The representative serves as a key person (but not exclusively) to help the committee consider:
- What innovations and creativity might help to expand a range of viewpoints
- How the search committee can best use, review, and refresh both the procedures and compliance requirements
- What practices at the local level can be leveraged through knowledge of the terrain and players
Procedures
Systems, forms, timelines, and other procedures for Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ’s faculty search committees are continually upgraded and revised to reflect technology, communication flow and multilevel decision-making. These procedures orchestrate the mechanics of the overall search process. The Faculty Recruiting System is currently the University’s technology interface for faculty searches.
Compliance
A faculty search’s legal considerations, including requirements and limitations, are not negotiable. Certain compliance requirements, such as the Faculty Search Summary form, are built into the Faculty Recruiting System.
Broadening the Pool Through Outreach and Advertising
- You and your colleagues can target individuals whom you would like to consider applying.
- Use social media to publicize the open position.
- Advertise in the usual places early, setting a clear deadline but knowing that the deadline can be extended if your pool is too small.
Forming the Search Committee and the Review Process
- Research shows that having more reviewers yields better outcomes.
- Having a committee member from outside your department is important to the overall flow of decision-making and good practices.
- To the best of your ability, avoid a bottleneck where one or two people eliminate applications. With the Faculty Recruitment System, all faculty on the search committee can review all applications.
- Clarify with the department chair the search committee’s precise charge and its relationship to the entire department.
- Set ground rules for how decisions are made within the search committee. For example, the search compliance representative can set practices to ensure that no one dominates the conversation and that all feel free to express their opinions.
Initial Review of Candidates and Creating the Short List
- Focus on the substance and quality of applicants’ research.
- Delay closing the search if necessary.
On-campus Interviews
- Review allowed and disallowed questions with all applicable faculty.
- Consider including and inviting undergraduate students to the job talk.
- Include your graduate students in ways that are significant for both good decision-making and their professional development.
- Recommend that each faculty member who meets with candidates use consistent questions.
- Consider using a web-based survey tool after each interview to gather feedback from faculty and students.
- Consider soliciting your staff’s view of the candidates.
- Direct all candidates to the same material about HR benefits and available work-life resources.