With the beginning of the spring term, many institutions are entering the height of their efforts in the search for new faculty. Search committees, typically constituted during the late summer/early fall, have spent the last semester creating position descriptions, posting ads, and connecting with prospective faculty - all with the goal of getting the best candidates to visit during the spring.
There's a lot more to successful searches than the mechanics of forming a committee and posting ads. The faculty search has a definite art that all faculty and staff need to embrace to achieve the best outcomes - new faculty members who are qualified and fit well into the community.
Before forming the committee, administrators must have a vision for what they want the team to accomplish. There must be collaboration to determine the types of prospective faculty who will best meet the needs of the institution, for example, researchers or sophisticated practitioners. Budgets must be considered, with frequent dialogue involving the program and central administration about the allocation of resources.
Formation of the search committee is a strategic decision that begins with the search for broad representation within the nursing program: faculty of different ranks representing various areas of expertise and skill. Cultural and ethnic representation is relevant, and student participation is common. Perhaps individuals from other units in the university, such as a research scholar in social work or a scholar in biomedical engineering, should be included. Whether designed for a department within a program or for the full program, search strategies are the same.
One significant purpose of the strategic decisions involved in the composition of the committee is the prevention of bias in the search process. Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education (November 30, 2016, p. A41), Lucy Leske said that "broad representation can work in a committee's favor as members question one another's rigidities about types of candidates." Many opportunities for rigidity exist, including place of academic preparation, the ranking of one's current institution, and the presence of underrepresented minorities. Those who form the committee need to charge all members to respectfully assist one another in avoiding rigidity and conducting unbiased candidate evaluations.
To me, the most important decision in search committee constitution is the selection of the chair. This person must navigate the world of biases inherent in us all and demonstrate techniques to minimize their impact. The effort necessary to give each candidate a thorough and fair evaluation is not trivial and requires the chair's constant vigilance. In my experience, strong chairs who demonstrate respect and call out rigidity in an appropriate manner add credibility to the process that all members, and eventually all administrators and faculty, admire. Candidates, too, recognize a search committee that handles potential biases well, as shown, for example, in the design of the questions asked and the rapport demonstrated by committee members.
There's a lot more to successful searches than the mechanics of forming a committee and posting ads. The faculty search has a definite art that all faculty and staff need to embrace to achieve the best outcomes - new faculty members who are qualified and fit well into the community.
Those members of the faculty who are not members of the committee also have a vital role - as ambassadors for the program. Some strategies for inclusion are simple, like greeting guests on the elevator or wearing nametags, but others require planning and deliberate action. It is devastating to candidates to find no one at meetings. The juggling act of scheduling a candidate requires masterful calendar management and flexibility, even, as often happens, with very short notice. Regardless of the situation, efforts need to be made to ensure that the candidate speaks to a room full of attentive individuals who participate in the conversation. It is important that the candidate enjoy the dialogue and want to join the group. Even on a clinical practice day, for example, presentations could be scheduled for the end of the day, after clinical faculty return from their practice sites.
Faculty need awareness of the multiple perspectives of the faculty search. It is easy to understand why some candidates may be a good fit with the organization and likely to accept a position. But what about the others? Anyone who comes to interview leaves with an impression of the program and the institution. All want that impression to be positive. Those candidates who do not join the team can still be good ambassadors for the institution, refer colleagues or students, or rate the program well in national surveys. There is a lot more at stake in the search process than getting a new hire. Be attentive to these multiple perspectives and do your utmost to participate fully.