FACULTY SEARCH PROCESS: BEST PRACTICES, STRATEGIES AND CONSIDERATIONS

1. FACULTY SEARCH PROCESS:BEST PRACTICES, STRATEGIES AND CONSIDERATIONS Mandy Munro-Stasiuk,Ph.D. Interim Associate Provost, mmunrost@kent.edu, 330.672.3225 Dana Lawless-Andric, M. Ed. Associate Vice President, DEI, dlawless@kent.edu, 330.672.1980

2. Objectives • Recruiting to retain with an emphasis on diversifying pools of potential candidates • Ensuring consistency in the search and selection process • Understanding and awareness of bias and myths • Fostering inclusive excellence

3. Provost Message “Diversity is the right thing to do in order to respect the backgrounds, talents, goals and motivations of our students and our university community. But there is a practical – and necessary – academic component to diversity: Our students cannot live in a bubble that only allows contact with those like them. We seek daily to prepare our students for a global society – and a world in which their talents and attitudes will help bring about the equal, just society we all dream about. Again, diversity is not just something we do – it is something we cannot do without.” - Provost Todd Diacon

4. The Kent State Hiring Process Mindsets and biases Mindsets and biases Mindsets and biases http://www.kent.edu/hr Search committee training for compliance http://learn.kent.edu(should be listed as a Blackboard course available to you)

5. PART 1What is diversity? • Understanding, respecting and valuing differences with the knowledge that we are all connected by one of life’s elements • The presence of difference (Kent State Equity Action Plan, 2013)

6. Our own mindsets Cognitive Frame: Deficit, Diversity or Equity (Bensimon, 2005)

7. Why “diversify” • Decades of research and recent statistics show that under-represented faculty at universities, and particularly in the tenure stream are woefully low Kent State Demographics: The big picture Gender Under- represented Race Men Women Ohio KSU students KSU TT faculty Ohio KSU students KSU TT faculty

8. Definitions and Discussion • Bias: an inclination of temperament or an outlook; a personal or sometimes unreasoned judgment • Myth: an unproven or false tradition, belief, idea or concept usually used to justify behavior or a social institution • Assumptions: something taking for granted or a supposition • Stereotyping: a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meeting and held in common by a group • Implicit Association / Cognitive Errors: connected thoughts contained within the nature of something / someone often tied to errors in judgement that our mind may convince us to be true when in fact it may not be true

9. Cultural Programming • Behavioral software that programs our perceptions of what is a normal way of doing things; creates a lens we use to see the world and influences the choices we make for the right way to behave in a given situation

10. Cultural Programming - left unchecked

11. Behavior Sense-Making Process Behavior Cultural Programming

12. Biases and Myths • Myths, biases and/or excuses can negatively impede the process • Stems from stereotypes, misconceptions, inaccurate perceptions • May arise throughout different phases of the process • Tend to become stumbling blocks if not identified and discredited early in the recruitment process Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2003). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination (No. w9873). National Bureau of Economic Research.

13. Implicit Association Test • Based on years of research out of Harvard • Seeks to understand hidden biases and their connection to actions • Recommend taking the Implicit Association Test • http://implicit.harvard.edu

14. Part 2Recruitment and the Search Process • Moody (2004) there are several practices that should be completed before recruitment begins: • On-going activity vs. a one-time event (on-going cultivation) • Establishing a pipeline of potential applicants • Relationship building with diverse communities

15. Types of Recruitment: Passive • Posting position on university Human Resources website • Sending job announcement to job boards or journal

16. Types of Recruitment: Active • Build relationships with doctoral programs • Invite doctoral students to a visiting scholar opportunity • Reach out to diverse networks and professional societies • Encourage senior faculty to visit campuses and meet with graduate students who may be interested in future faculty opportunities • Conduct screening during conferences and other networking events • Do diligent follow-up

17. Types of Recruitment: Active • Development of departmental diversity committee • Adopting “feeder schools” • Rising Star Symposia • Social media professional groups (Linked In)

18. Types of Recruitment: Alternative Approaches • Special hires • Cluster hiring • Post doctoral fellows • Target Opportunity Hiring

19. Position Descriptions and Job Announcements • Define Critical Characteristics of the position • Establish Selection Criteria before interview process • Seek a well-defined yet broad job description to attract a large, diverse pool • Make sure to incorporate standard university requirements and tailored information to ensure uniformity and consistency • Consider smaller “grab” ad

20. Grab Ad - example

21. Grab Ad (continued)

22. Forming A Search Committee Engage Participants with Differing Points of View Diverse demographic backgrounds may include Gender Age Ethnicity Race Identity • Research / professional interest and experience • Faculty (Tenured vs. Non-Tenured) / varying staff positions • Doctoral graduates from neighboring institutions or disciplinary • associations / constituents • Non-Faculty for faculty searches / faculty for staff searches

23. Screening Candidates • Development of robust screening tool to use throughout process, adjusted slightly based on each stage • Application Packet Screening • Telephone Interview (if done) • In-person Interview • All screening methods must tie to critical characteristics in job-ad

24. Candidate Screening Form

26. Behavioral Interviewing • Situational-Based Questioning • Ask candidate to describe situations that demonstrates their behavior • Use open-ended questions • Past performance and behavior of applicant may predict future performance

27. Behavioral Interviewing • Identify what the faculty member needs to do in the position • Determine the required outputs and performance success factors for the position • Decide the general characteristics and traits for job success • Focus on key behavioral traits candidates should demonstrate to be considered • Make a list of questions, both behavioral and traditional, to ask each candidate

28. Telephone / Skype Interviewing • High bias potential (be aware) • Allows insight into the information submitted in the applicant packet • The goal is to identify candidates that meet the identified needs and possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to be considered for a campus interview

29. Campus Visit Interviewing • Dual purpose • Allows candidates to showcase their academic accomplishments • Allows university to highlight strengths of the university • Kent State’s Commitment to Diversity & Equity • Awareness of diversity resources as relevant

30. Campus Visit Interviewing • Talent – Position – Institution “Fit” • Formal and informal conversations • Conscious of appropriate questions and behavior by search committee members • Provide itinerary for the visit including whom the candidate will meet with during the visit • Note of caution: Fit Myth

31. Selection • Revisit job-related characteristics to consider established during the pre-search phase • Review of candidate screening forms from each committee member • Discuss screening opinions of committee member • Identify acceptable and not acceptable candidates • Complete steering committee recommendation form • Apply considerations of diversity • Watch for biases, assumptions, and myths

32. Summary & Wrap-Up

33. Ways to work against bias in the process • Discuss the value of and define diversity for the department/school/college • Establish and follow interview protocol • Avoid illegal pre-employment topics • Use screening tools and rubric • Identify and address bias (chair role) • Awareness and use of interview techniques • Behavioral • Telephone / Skype • Campus

34. Assess Search Process and Outcomes • Evaluate the search process • Produce pre- and post-assessments • Post recruitment interviews with diverse groups that have been hired • Determine if process is yielding sufficient diverse slate of candidates • Conduct both quantitative and qualitative assessment • Modify if not producing adequate number in candidate pool • Pre and Post meeting with search committee

35. New View • Transparency of the review process assures equity • Merit is a socially constructed, subjective concept • Cooperation is better than competition • Research should be organized around problems • Excellent teaching & advising should pay off • Personal life matters, balance is important • Faculty have a collective responsibility Old View • Secrecy assures quality • Merit is an empirically determined, objective concept • Competition improves performance • Research should be organized around disciplines • Research is the coin of the realm • Separate work and family • Faculty thrive on autonomy Faculty Diversity Too Little for Too Long (Trower & Chait, 2002)

36. In Conclusion • Share successful practices with Office of the Provost & DEI • Consider biases, myths and assumptions on a continual basis; keep dialogue open • Prioritize efforts • Evaluation & Feedback • Piece of larger mosaic of efforts to deepen and diversify the learning communities throughout Kent State and all of it’s campuses

37. Closing Thought “If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a • fitting place.” • Margaret Mead

38. Questions ?

39. Resources • Research articles • Faculty Diversity: Too Little for Too Long • Four Barriers to Faculty Diversity • Interrupting the Usual: Successful Strategies for Hiring Diverse Faculty • How to Diversity the Faculty • Information: • Excellence and Diversity in Faculty Recruitment • Common Shortcuts • Directory of websites to reach diverse groups All available on the Provost’s website

40. References • Consultant: Dr. Charlotte Lofton, Kent State’s Center for Corporate & Professional Development (2011-2012). • Banaji, M.R. & Greenwald, A.G. (2013). Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. New York, NY. Delacorte Press. • Interrupting Bias: University of Washington Center for Institutional Change (www.engr.washingont.edu/lead/biasfilm • humanresources.about.com/od/interviewing/a/behavior_interv.htm • Moody, J. (2004). Faculty Diversity: Problems and Solutions. Routledge Farmer: NY:NY • Moody, J. (2014). Kent State Diversity Faculty Diversity Workshop. • Smith, D. (2009). Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education. The Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, MD. • Turner, C.S.V. (2002). Diversifying the Faculty: A Guidebook for Search Committees. Association of American Colleges and Universities: Washington, DC. • www.eeoc.gov • Hubbard, E. (2003). Diversity Management. HRD Press, Inc. • Breakthrough Advances in Faculty Diversity: Lessons and Innovative Practices from the Frontier, 2008, Education Advisory Board, Washington, DC