UC SAN DIEGO BEST-PRACTICE STRATEGIES
FOR FACULTY RECRUITMENT

To help fulfill UC’s mission of academic excellence,
diversity, and inclusiveness, utilize the best-practice
recruitment strategies below

Recruitment Preparation — Job Announcement,  Search Committee

o

Draft the position announcement as broadly as possible to attract the largest available pool of potential applicants.

o

Include the department Internet address in the job announcement.

Include in ad text: “Applicants are welcome to include in their cover letters a personal statement summarizing their contributions to diversity.”

Replace the acronym “EO/AA” in the announcement with “UCSD is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer with a strong institutional commitment to excellence through diversity.”

Make an effort to appoint a search committee that represents a diverse cross section of the faculty.  Look beyond your department to avoid overworking members of less represented groups.

Encourage all search committee members to utilize the resource, “Achieving a Culture of Inclusion: A Self-Assessment Tool.”  (see: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/facultydiversity/report.html)

Attend SVCAA orientation sessions for department chairs that include guidance on administering searches.

Widespread and Targeted Advertising,  Proactive Outreach

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Adopt an advertising strategy that includes announcements to a broad audience, augmented with postings targeted at women and minority groups.  Utilize these resources:

○

National journals

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Departments at other campuses

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Academic and professional associations (including committees within these associations)

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Listservs

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Web sites

o

Consult with colleagues and/or make personal contact with faculty, academic administrators, members of the California Universities Consortium, etc., at other UC and non-UC campuses to identify potential applicants, including those from diverse backgrounds.

o

Utilize directories and rosters of prestigious fellowship programs at both pre- and post-doctoral levels, including those that support individuals from diverse backgrounds.

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Attend conferences that provide opportunities to recruit applicants.

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Identify individuals who have achieved excellence outside academe.

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Market the department and the campus — showcase UCSD as an “employer of choice” offering academic excellence, diversity, and family accommodation programs.

o

Ensure that search committees document outreach efforts (for example, committee members should cc: key department support staff on e-mails to solicit applicants).

Assessment and Screening of Applicant Pool, Utilization of Campus Resources

o

Review the applicant pool prior to beginning the selection process to determine whether women and minority applicants are represented in the pool.  If women and minority applicants are not present in the pool at about the rate of their estimated availability in the field, determine whether recruitment and outreach efforts were sufficiently broad. If not, consider reopening the search with expanded, inclusive recruitment efforts.

Have at least two search committee members review all initial application materials.  Ensure fair evaluation of all applicants.

Use the SVCAA mentoring program to welcome top candidates.

Use the SVCAA Partner Opportunities Program to inform top candidates of employment resources for spouses/ partners.

At the close of a recruitment, the search committee chair should prepare a written document describing the reasons for proposing, or not proposing, short-listed candidates for the position.