Guidelines for tenure-track faculty searches

First, please consult the Provost's guidelines on faculty hiring, which helps the search chair to understand processes from writing the job ad to best practices for interviews. 

Faculty hiring is one of the highest priorities at the University of Richmond and in the School of Arts & Sciences. Thus, a shared commitment to the priorities outlined below serves to advance our mission. If you have any questions about any of the below, please consult actively with the Dean's Office. 

At any point during a search, you might know of a person of interest for the position. Anyone at the university is welcome to let the Associate Dean for Thriving, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity and the search committee chair know about persons of interest. 

The following steps pertain to faculty searches in the School of Arts & Sciences:

1. Once the Dean has gained approval for a search, the department chair needs to form a departmental search committee (which might be chaired by someone else). In cases of hires that cross departments/programs, the Dean or Associate Dean will work directly with the chair(s)/program coordinator to constitute the search committee.

2. Please inform the Dean and Associate Dean of your search committee members, the name of the committee chair, the Diversity and Search Advocate (DASA), and your recommendation for an outside committee member, as soon as you know these details. We strongly recommend that the DASA be a tenured faculty member from outside of your department. The Associate Dean for Thriving, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity can assist you in appointing a DASA.

3. The DASA must attend the training session. The date and time of that orientation is set annually, so please consult the Provost's hiring resource. 

4. The DASA needs to participate in the development of the position description.

5. Submit the job description and advertisement to the Dean and Associate Dean for review and approval. Please factor in the rules the faculty adopted in the Guidelines for Promoting Diversity in Faculty Hiring. Make sure to list "begin review of application" date rather than closing dates. Application processes remain open until the job is filled.

6. Since applicants must apply through the online application process, the ad must be posted on the HR web site prior to advertising the position.

7. Please consult with the Dean and Associate Dean about placement of the advertisement in print and online venues.

8. Take an active approach to building a diverse, inclusive applicant pool consistent with your ad. This means directly contacting associations, graduate institutions, and colleagues, especially those who would have knowledge of prospective candidates. The Associate Dean for Thriving, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity can help with this. 

9. The search committee should hold frequent meetings throughout all deliberations. Build in time for discussion, deliberation, and if necessary revisiting the pool of applicants before making recommendations on the top candidates (usually 10 or more, in most searches). If meetings cannot occur face-to-face for any reason, check in regularly through whatever resources are at hand: telephone, email, tele- and videoconferencing, or in-person meetings, when possible. 

10. Submit the list of candidates (at this stage, usually 10 or more) to the Dean and your Associate Dean. The Dean's Office (usually the Associate Dean for Thriving, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity) will contact HR to compare the demographics of this list with the broader pool of candidates. The Dean will either approve the list or engage the committee further about the recommendations. The Associate Dean can be of assistance.

11. Following the preliminary interviews with candidates (usually 10 or more, where committees do preliminary interviews), submit a slate of the top three to four finalists. The Dean and Associate Dean will either approve the list or engage the committee further about the recommendations.

12. When scheduling finalists for campus visits, be sure to include a 45 minute time with the Dean to meet with the candidate. Contact the Dean's Assistant to schedule those appointments.

13. Schedule a 45 minute meeting with the candidate for your Associate Dean. Contact the Administrative Coordinator to schedule those appointments.

14. As you are building your candidates' schedules please keep in mind that you are both interviewing and recruiting. Separate research talks and teaching demonstrations are strongly recommended. Please make sure your candidates have time to see the city, meet with students, tour the campus and meet with selected faculty and staff outside your department who have shared interests with the finalists. Your assessment of each candidate's teaching, scholarship and commitment to our institutional mission are essential.

15. Following the campus visits and the search committee's and department's deliberations, the search committee and/or department chair should contact the Dean to discuss the committee's recommendation. 

The chair submits a slate of candidates who are "recommended" and "not recommended" for appointment, with a summary of any committee votes and deliberations. The recommendation should not include a ranking.

The Dean, Associate Dean, and Associate Dean for Thriving, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity will discuss the recommendation and, when necessary, meet with the committee chair and the DASA. In cases where there is not a clear consensus, the Dean may choose to engage further with the search committee and department. 

At any point during a search, you might know of a person of interest to the position. Anyone at the university is welcome to let the Associate Dean for Thriving, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity and the search committee know about persons of interest. 

Revised August 2021