Effective Faculty Searches

1. Effective Faculty Searches Vincent Price Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Lubna Mian Associate Director of Faculty Affairs October, 2008

2. Our Goals • Excellence • Diversity • Strategic development • Interdisciplinary scholarship Effective Faculty Searches | # 2

3. Why Diversity? • Increased talent pool • Student support • Better teamwork • Equity Effective Faculty Searches | # 3

4. Achieving our Goals • Large and diverse applicant pools • Careful and unbiased evaluations • Thorough interviewing processes • Intelligent collective decision making Effective Faculty Searches | # 4

5. A Diverse Pool U.S. Population 2005 68% 12.7% 13.8% 5.2% Effective Faculty Searches | # 5

6. A Diverse Pool U.S. Ph.D. Recipients 1995-2005 61.8% Population Ph.D. Pool 21.1% 4.8% 4.6% Effective Faculty Searches | # 6

7. A Diverse Pool Penn Standing Faculty 2006 83.4% Population Ph.D. Pool Penn Faculty 10.8% 3.2% 2.5% Effective Faculty Searches | # 7

8. A Diverse Pool U.S. Population 2005 50.7% 49.3% Effective Faculty Searches | # 8

9. A Diverse Pool U.S. Ph.D. Recipients 1995-2005 Population Ph.D. Pool 57% 43% Effective Faculty Searches | # 9

10. A Diverse Pool Penn Standing Faculty 2006 72.9% Population Ph.D. Pool Penn Faculty 27.1% Effective Faculty Searches | # 10

11. Comparison to peers Data reflect only tenured and tenure-track faculty Comparison Peers: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Chicago, Rochester, Washington University, Yale Source: Data Reported to the U.S. Department of Education Effective Faculty Searches | # 11

12. Asian Black Hispanic White Faculty Turnover 2003-2006 61 Arts & Sciences 13 5 3 -4 -3 -4 -64 Effective Faculty Searches | # 12

13. Grooming Large and Diverse Pools Active Searches • Know the obstacles • Network before opening search • Use targeted outreach • Use word of mouth • Avoid undue narrowcasting Effective Faculty Searches | # 13

14. Careful and Unbiased Evaluation Harder than you think! • Diffusion of responsibility • Short cuts • Unconscious bias Effective Faculty Searches | # 14

15. Unconscious Schemas Natural part of perception and evaluation • Beliefs about people • Beliefs about how people “ought” to be Contributing factors • Ambiguity • Stress from competing tasks • Time pressure • Lack of critical mass Fiske (2002). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 123-128. Effective Faculty Searches | # 15

16. Unconscious Schemas High Women Warmth Whites Asians Blacks Men Hispanics Low Low High Competence Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu (2002). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878-902. Effective Faculty Searches | # 16

17. From University of Michigan STRIDE program (http://sitemaker.umich.edu/advance/stride)

18. Evaluating C.V.s Brian Karen University psychology professors preferred “Brian” over “Karen” by 2:1 Steinpreis, Anders, & Ritzke (1999) Sex Roles, 41, 509. Effective Faculty Searches | # 18

19. Callbacks Black-sounding names (“Jamal”): 15 resumes = callback White-sounding names (“Greg”): • 10 resumes = callback • Equivalent to 8 extra years experience Bertrand & Mullainathan (2004) Poverty Action Lab, 3, 1-27. Effective Faculty Searches | # 19

20. Letters of Recommendation Letters for women • Shorter • Fewer references to c.v. • Twice as many gender references • More references to personal life • Fewer standout references (“excellent”) and more “grindstone” references (“hardworking”) • Twice as many hedges and irrelevancies (“It’s amazing how much she’s accomplished”) Trix & Psenka (2003) Discourse & Society, 14(2), 191-220. Effective Faculty Searches | # 20

21. Influences on Advancement Simulated organizational hierarchy • Start with 50-50 gender mix • Assume 1 percent bias in promotions After eight promotion cycles: • Highest management level 65% male Martell, Lane, & Emrich (1996) American Psychologist, 51, 157-158. Effective Faculty Searches | # 21

22. Reducing Bias • Reducing ambiguity • Avoiding “solo” presence in pool • Taking time to review applications • Focusing on positive exemplars Dovidio & Gaertner (2000). Psychological Science, 11, 315-319. Fiske (2002). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 123-128. Martell (1991). Journal of Applied Soc Psychol, 21, 1939-1960. Dasgupta & Greenwald (2001). Journal of Pers & Soc Psych, 81, 800-814. Effective Faculty Searches | # 22

23. Careful and Unbiased Evaluation Thoughtfulness and accountability • Supportive, diverse committee • Familiarity with research on bias • Structured, evidence-based review • Apply consistent, objective criteria • Evaluate entire application • Treat recommendations with care • Avoid over-reliance on prestige Effective Faculty Searches | # 23

24. Effective Visits • Show enthusiasm • Offer dual-career and family-friendly policy information • Identify colleagues who can discuss climate for women and minorities • Introduce the city and region • Stay in contact • Be even-handed and transparent in negotiating Effective Faculty Searches | # 24

25. Dual-Career Couples Sequential: One partner hired first, then negotiates for the “second hire.” 5.5% Dual Hires: Hired as a couple 8% Independent Hires: Each replied to separate advertisements for position, or met after they were hired. 20% Joint: Recruited by university as a couple. 2.5% Solo Hires: Only one partner in the couple is currently employed in academia. 9% Clayman Institute Survey of Penn Faculty N= 949 (34% response rate) Effective Faculty Searches | # 25

26. Some Resources • Faculty Opportunity Fund • Benefits and Retirements Brochures • Online Application System • HERC • Accompanying Spouse-Partner Program • Relocation Assistance • Child Care Effective Faculty Searches | # 26

27. Discussion Effective Faculty Searches | # 27

28. provost-fac@upenn.edu