Affirmative Action - Wesleyan University


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Guidelines For Recruiting Candidates
for Faculty Positions

The Academic Affairs staff will work closely with faculty and staff involved in faculty recruitment.

1. Search Requests. Requests to begin a search should be in writing, should specify the field and rank, and should include a brief rationale for the search. What is the importance of the field for the discipline, for the department, and for other departments or programs at Wesleyan?

Permission to begin a search process must be approved by the Academic Dean and authorized by the Vice President for Academic Affairs in writing.

2. Search Committees. Screening candidates for an authorized position is exacting and time-consuming work. Chairs may wish to designate small departmental or interdepartmental committees to take charge of job recruiting. The Chair and the Academic Dean should discuss the composition of these search committees before actually appointing the Committee.

3. Search Plan. At the start of each search, the search committee will meet with the VPAA, Academic Dean, Associate Provost, and Director of Affirmative Action to discuss recruitment procedures and strategies. The plan should note how the search committee plans to recruit candidates and what it will do to bring the position to the attention of a diverse population of scholars.

4. Advertisements. Academic Affairs will cover the costs of advertising, up to a maximum of $1000. If advertising costs will exceed $1,000, the Chair should consult with Paula Lawson, the Associate Provost, before placing the ads. Advertising includes print and electronic announcements as well as any printing and mailing expenses.

5. First Phase of Search. The dossiers of candidates should contain their vita, at least three letters of recommendation, and samples of their scholarship. Candidates in the creative or performing arts should send other appropriate evidence of their work. Whenever possible, search committees may use telephone interviewing and opportunities at professional meetings to help screen applicants.

6. Interviewing at Professional Meetings. When contacting candidates to set up interviews at professional meetings, the search committee should ask them for copies of as much of their scholarship as they are willing to send. It will be important to have this on hand before seeking approval of campus visits in order to obtain a better sense of the quality of their work and, in some cases, whether the candidates are close to completing their Ph.D.

The Office of Academic Affairs will reimburse expenses for travel, hotel rooms (not suites) and up to $60/day for meals per person for three representatives per authorized position to attend professional meetings to interview candidates. Receipts are required and should be submitted promptly. If it is felt that a suite is necessary for interviewing, please check with Paula Lawson, the Associate Provost. Any requests for travel that do not fit these guidelines should be directed to Paula Lawson.

7. Obtaining candidates' written work. When contacting candidates to set up either a personal or telephonic interview, the search committee should ask them for copies of as much of their scholarship as they are willing to send. If interviews are not going to be held, the search committee should seek from those it is considering recommending for a campus visit all the materials needed to assess the value of their work and the time likely for completion of the Ph.D. for candidates who do not yet have the degree.

8. Campus Visit Approval. Search chairs must have the approval of the VPAA, the appropriate Academic Dean, the President, and the Director of Affirmative Action before inviting candidates to visit campus. Search chairs should contact Paula Lawson, Associate Provost, to begin the process of securing these authorizations. The number of finalists invited to campus is normally three candidates, and no fewer than two. Permission to bring more than three candidates for a campus visit must be authorized by the Academic Dean.

In order to gain approval for a campus visit by candidates, departments or programs should send a written request to their Academic Dean discussing the merits of the candidates they would like to invite to campus. The written request should include:

A. A brief description of the search process;

B. Photocopies of the ads as they appeared in print and on-line, and a list of where they appeared;

C. A list of all the candidates who applied for the position, their institutional affiliations, rank if applicable, and ethnicity if the department can ascertain it;

D. A list of all phone calls and personal contacts made by search committee members to widen the pool;

E. A description of how the department met Wesleyan�s affirmative action/diversity goals. In particular, it should explain what specific actions the department or program took to widen its pool of applicants, and it should include documentation of all personal contacts made by members of the search committee (letters, emails, and logs of phone or personal conversation). Also, if qualified minority or women candidates were not short-listed for a campus visit, the department should indicate the reason.

F. A discussion of the merits of the recommended candidates. If the search committee can ascertain any possible problems with the candidates, they should discuss those as well. The request should also discuss the candidates' accomplishments and/or potential as scholars and teachers (teaching ability may be hard to estimate until the campus visit). This means that the search committee will have to read the candidates' work and closely examine the vita and other parts of the dossier before recommending a campus visit. When dealing with candidates who are still working on their Ph.D. it will be important to read as much as possible of what the candidate has written and to obtain from him or her the chapters completed, a list of the work that remains to be done, and the expected date of completion. Since candidates tend to have an optimistic sense of when they will finish, obtain from them a list of the chapters completed, the work that remains to be done, and the expected date of completion. This should help the committee reach an independent judgment about the likelihood of completion in the near future.

G. Supporting material for each candidate for whom a visit is requested:
                � letter of application
                � curriculum vita
               � letters of references
                � all the written or other work submitted.

9. Expenses of the Visit. Candidates are guests of Wesleyan when visiting campus. Their expenses are paid and they are not eligible for honoraria. The University appreciates the time faculty must devote to seeing candidates on campus and extending hospitality. Academic Affairs appreciates efforts made by departments to control costs, while insuring that every candidate is treated well and has a comfortable visit. Candidates who need to stay overnight, should be accommodated at the Inn at Middletown. Departments should make the reservation directly, noting that it is for a job candidate, and then forward the completed direct billing forms to Lucy Diaz, Administrative Assistant to the Academic Deans. Only modestly sized groups should join candidates for meals at the University's expense. Bills should not exceed $50.00 for lunch or $150.00 for dinner. (If a candidate is taken to more than one dinner, costs should be kept lower.) Departments are responsible for costs in excess of these amounts. Large departmental receptions for candidates are generally not reimbursed by Academic Affairs. In accordance with University policy, all candidates are required to complete and sign a Travel Expense Report to receive reimbursement for travel. Bills are to be submitted to Lucy Diaz, as soon as possible after the visit.

10. Role of Academic Deans, Advisory Committee, VPAA. All candidates invited to campus will meet with the appropriate Academic Dean and a member of the Advisory Committee. All candidates for tenured positions will also meet with the VPAA and a second member of the Advisory Committee. Department or Program Administrative Assistants should contact the Office of the Academic Deans (ext. 3110) early in the search process to discuss the schedule for candidates to meet with the Academic Dean for that department or program. They should also contact the representative of the Advisory Committee who has been assigned to their search, and, in the case of candidates for tenured positions, they should contact the VPAA�s office (ext. 2010) to schedule an appointment. The Advisory Committee representatives should receive copies of each candidate�s vita. A packet of information will be given to candidates by the Academic Dean, which will include information on the promotion and tenure process, information on compensation and benefits, an expense voucher and return envelope, and other pertinent information.

Please note that before a search committee meets to discuss the outcome of the visit and the ranking of candidates who came to campus, the committee must obtain the opinions of the Academic Deans and the Advisory Committee member(s) who met the candidates during their campus visits. The search committee must also obtain the opinion of the VPAA in cases involving candidates for a tenured position.

11. Decision to Recommend an Offer. The decisions to recommend whether to make an offer and to whom should be reached promptly, and normally within a month after candidates visit campus. Even more important, however, the recommendation should be reached after extensive and informed discussion by the faculty in the departments and programs involved in the search. That discussion should be based on a careful examination of substantial portions of the candidate�s work by most of the faculty in those departments or programs. Chairs or directors should consult all faculty in the department or core faculty in the program, except the untenured faculty in their last year. After this consultation, and with the concurrence of a majority of the tenure-track and tenured faculty, a written recommendation should be sent to the Academic Dean. The recommendation should include a report on the votes in favor and against the recommendation, a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate in comparison to the other finalists, and, if appropriate, a discussion of other candidates to whom an offer might be made should the first-ranked candidate decline.

12. Speaking with a Candidate about a Possible Offer. Chairs must receive the explicit approval of the VPAA, through the Academic Dean, to speak with a candidate about a possible offer. After such approval has been received, the chair may contact the candidate and say that he or she is the choice of the department and that he or she will be hearing from the Dean shortly to discuss salaries, conditions, and the like.

13. Opportunity Appointments. For details about what constitutes an opportunity appointment and the process involved in making one, see the document "Opportunity Appointments."

14. Unsolicited Job Inquiries. These should be answered promptly and courteously. Inquiries that come to the Office of Academic Affairs or the Office of the Academic Deans are referred to the appropriate department.

Office of Academic Affairs