College of Engineering

Faculty Search Process Guidelines

Expectations for Faculty Search Processes

1. The Department Chair will achieve consensus on specific needs for accreditation, teaching and scholarship. A draft advertisement will be prepared by the Department Chair and disseminated for feedback from the Department faculty and staff leading to a final draft which will be sent to the Dean for review, comment, and approval.
2. Applicants should submit a portfolio that includes (a) a cover letter indicating their interest in the faculty position, available start date, and summary of their qualifications; (b) a detailed curriculum vitae or resume; (c) a statement of teaching philosophy; (d) a research statement; (e) a diversity, equity and inclusion statement; and (f) contact information for a minimum of three current references.
3. The Department Chair will recommend to the Dean an appropriately diverse and representative Search Committee and ensure that each member is sufficiently trained and understands relevant laws and policies. The Department Chair should consider the range of representation required for a given search and whether it is appropriate to have representation from staff, students, alumni, advisory board members, and various faculty levels (tenure- track, tenured, lecturers and part-time).
4. Both the Department and Search Committee Chairs will directly inform the Search Committee both verbally and in writing that they are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of all information associated with the search process.
5. For all applications received, the Department Secretary will send out requests for reference letters as requested by the Search Committee and keep track of the letters received for use during the evaluation process.
6. The Search Committee will work closely with the COE Senior Business Manager and the Office of Faculty Labor Relations and Academic Inclusion (OFLRAI) throughout the process.
7. The Department Chair and departmental faculty will work with the Deans office to widely publicize the search as well as use their own informal channels to obtain a large and diverse applicant pool. The Department Chair should confirm that the position has been posted on the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium job posting site (http://www.hercjobs.org).
8. The Search Committee will document and consistently apply a comprehensive set of criteria in identifying phone/videoconference interviewees. OFLRAI approval is required before conducting these initial interviews.
9. The Search Committee will document rationale for their interview selections, complete the attached competitive recruitment report, and forward the names of acceptable candidates to the Department Chair.
10. The Department and Search Committee Chairs will work collectively with the COE Senior Business Manager to decide the number of candidates to invite and to obtain OFLRAI approval for the selected pool of candidates for on-campus interviews.
11. Once the pool is approved by OFLRAI, the Search Committee Chair will call or email the candidates to confirm the interest of the selected candidates in visiting for an on-campus interview. OFLRAI approval must be obtained if selected candidates decline interviews and alternate candidates are selected to interview in their place.
12. The Department Chair will ensure that the Search Committee (and ideally all department faculty and staff) understand the courses that the candidate would likely teach, the research space that would be assigned or accessible for the candidate, and other issues relevant to enabling the candidate’s success if selected.
13. The Search Committee should schedule an open forum for the candidate to present to Department faculty, staff, students and any potential collaborators. The Search Committee should endeavor to insure the candidate’s visit schedule maximizes the ability of Department faculty and students to attend this forum.
14. The Search Committee will endeavor to include in the interview schedule possible research collaborators in other departments and colleges.
15. The Search Committee should schedule a time to allow each candidate to tour facilities and view relevant research and instructional equipment.
16. The Search Committee will work with Dean’s Office to ensure that Dean and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies can meet with each candidate being interviewed. If possible, these meetings should be scheduled toward the end of the visit so that a discussion of required resources and start-up package needs can be conducted.
17. The Search Committee should schedule a closed forum between the candidate and the Department faculty to understand the candidate’s future plans and resource needs, and to ensure that the candidate has a reasonable understanding of what will be expected to be successful here.
18. The Search Committee will disseminate via email or other electronic means each finalist’s CV, application and visit agenda to all individuals on the interview schedule and the entire department at least three working days before the campus visit.
19. The Search Committee should also disseminate the visit schedule to the candidate at least three working days before the campus visit. Visit schedules should be as consistent as possible for all candidates to insure a consistent evaluation process for selecting the finalist(s).
20. The Search Committee will solicit and review feedback from all individuals who interacted with each candidate. The use of anonymous electronic surveys is encouraged for this purpose.
21. The Search Committee will meet and discuss their recommendations with the Department Chair which will be followed by the preparation of a confidential summary report on all interviewed candidates including acquired feedback that will be disseminated to all the Department faculty. This overview should highlight any candidate(s) that may not be acceptable for hire with corresponding justification.
22. The Department Chair will brief the Dean on which candidates are considered acceptable, which candidate is preferred, relevant information regarding salary, start date, startup package, and other pertinent information.
23. After the Department Chair and Dean come to an agreement, the Search Committee will provide a justification on why this candidate was selected, and the Chair will obtain approval from OFLRAI to extend an offer to the selected candidate.
24. The Chair will verbally discuss the offer with the preferred candidate, then work with the Dean and Senior Business Manager to draft a written offer.
25. If the first candidate declines the offer, and other candidates were deemed acceptable by the Search Committee, Chair and Dean, then the previous two steps will be repeated until a candidate accepts an offer or until the list of acceptable candidates has been exhausted.