Recruiting Tools

Tips on Diversifying the Hiring Process

Adapted from: (1) Moody, J. A. (2004). Faculty diversity: Problems and solutions. New York: RoutledgeFarmer. (2) Tuner, C. S. V. (2002). Diversifying the faculty: A guide for search committees. Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Things to do:

  • Communicate the educational rationale
    • Most colleges and universities recognize the value of diversity in their student, faculty and staff as vitally important to preparing students to live and work in a world marked by sweeping demographic changes and global interconnectedness. Make faculty diversity a goal.
  • Create a welcoming environment
    • In order to retain and recruit minority and women faculty, the institution must be ready to welcome diversity. The institution should provide an environment that is supportive of minority and women faculty. Introduce faculty candidates to diversity on campus through student groups, programs of study, study centers, the university’s mission statement, provide statistics on minority and women faculty and students, demonstrate community partnership.
  • Examine hiring biases
    • To diversify faculty, the criteria used for hiring and promotion must also be diversified. There is often a predisposition for search committees to look for and favor candidates who are “just like us.” This does not necessarily encompass only race,ethnicity and gender but educational background, social skills, values and behavior. Consider faculty who break the traditional academic mold.
  • Look outside of top graduate programs
    • A study by Mickelson and Oliver (1991) suggests that potential faculty candidates are most often eliminated on the basis of their graduate school. The highest rankings go to candidate from the most elite doctoral granting institutions. Some scholars may take different routes to the professoriate than the majority. Look for those who have distinguished themselves in the field.
  • Look beyond publishing
    • Does the candidate have teaching experience, service work, work experience, including nonacademic work?
  • Supporting the new hire
    • It is crucial to think about retention of minority and women faculty. Here are some ways to support the new hire: offer mentoring with a minority counterpart, give a written statement of the standards and procedures for advancement, professional development sessions and showcase the new hire’s talent in a special program or seminar. It is also important for the committee to continually talk with the new hire to see how adjustment is coming along as well as discussion of any potential issues. Additional ideas for supporting the new hire: introduce the new hire to the community and what is has to offer (outdoor recreation, shopping, dining, music as well as proximity to larger cities, state parks, historic sites, and tourist attractions), discuss school districts, house hunting, and spousal/partner job placement/hunt.

Myths to avoid:

  • No women and minorities would settle for the paltry salary we can offer.
  • No women and minorities would want to come here because they would not have a critical mass of others like themselves with whom to build community.
  • We’ll never find qualified candidates for our department; the pool doesn’t exist. That’s the reason we have so few women and minorities right now across this university.
  • We have a few women and minority colleagues in our department, so that’s enough diversity.
  • Majority men are having an awful time in the job market, so shouldn’t we be giving them extra consideration? We really don’t need to work at identifying and hiring women and minorities, because they are having their doors beaten down by recruiters.
  • Because this campus is already color-blind and gender-blind meritocracy, we really can’t be extra aggressive in our faculty recruiting of white women and minorities. We have to continue to be color-blind and gender-blind in our actions.

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