Getting the Search Process Started
Forming the Search Committee
Composition
In forming the search committee, the hiring officer should try
to make it as representative as possible of the groups that have a significant interest
in the position to be filled. In the case of a dean, for example, the committee should
include representation from the college faculty, the executive officers of the college's
academic departments, the college's professional staff, the college's undergraduate and
graduate students, and any other relevant campus constituencies. For some searches, it
will also be important to include representatives from alumni and/or professional groups
outside the university.
Size
The importance of having a committee that is fully representative must, however, be
balanced against the need to limit the committee to a size that allows the members to
work together effectively as a group. A committee of between ten and twelve members is
probably ideal, and more than fifteen can make it difficult for everyone to participate.
Moreover, as the size of the committee grows, so does the difficulty in finding times
when everyone can meet.
Selection Process
The various constituencies should be given the opportunity
to nominate persons to represent them on the committee, but the administrator in charge
of the search should make the final selection. This allows the administrator the latitude
to form a committee that is diverse with respect to gender, race, ethnic group, and any
other characteristics important to that particular search.
The hiring officer should also consider the potential ability of individual search committee members to identify likely candidates and persuade them to apply for the position. As will be discussed in detail later, an active search committee is more valuable to the hiring officer than a passive one.
Committee Chair
The committee's chair should be appointed by the hiring
officer, not chosen by the committee itself. It's important that the chair understands
the hiring officer's objectives and be in agreement with them. The chair must also,
however, be someone in whom the committee will have confidence as a leader.
The chair should not be selected from among the persons who will be representing specific constituencies on the committee. In fact, it may be desirable for the chair to come from outside the area for which the new administrator will be the leader, thus allowing him or her to play a more neutral role. The chair should, however, be someone who is familiar enough with the unit's programs to be able to discuss the unit knowledgeably with potential candidates. It's generally a good idea to select the chair before the committee membership has been settled, to give the chair an opportunity to contribute to its composition.
Staff for Search
The hiring officer should provide the committee with staff
support to facilitate its work. At a minimum, this should be a secretary who will
schedule meetings, maintain the files, and carry out other tasks as needed. It may also
be helpful to have someone from the hiring officer's staff serve as an ex-officio member
of the committee, to advise the committee with respect to procedures and issues that may
arise and to serve as a liaison to the hiring officer. This person may also record the
committee's minutes, which are needed primarily to keep a record of agreements and
decisions reached by the committee.
Organizing the Search
Charge to the Committee
Once the committee is formed, the hiring officer
should arrange to meet with it to give the committee its charge and to respond to any
questions the members may have.
The charge should address the following points:
- The nature of the position, and the qualities that the hiring officer believes are critical to perform successfully in it.
- The date by which the hiring officer hopes to make the final selection.
- The role the committee is expected to play at each step of the process.
- The minimum and maximum number of "finalists" to be recommended by the committee for campus vists.
- The role that the hiring officer expects to play during the search process.
To the extent that any of the committee members has concerns or disagreements with any of the hiring officer's expectations, these should be raised and discussed at this time.
Affirmative Search
Special attention should be paid to impressing on the
committee members the importance of conducting an affirmative search with respect
to insuring that the pool of candidates is as diverse as possible. A representative of
the university's Affirmative Action Office may be invited to attend the first meeting to
suggest procedures that the committee can follow to achieve this objective, as well as
outlets for the position announcement that will call it to the attention of members of
protected classes. Although the hiring officer has presumably included members of
protected classes on the committee, it should not be assumed that affirmative action is
solely the responsibility of those individuals; indeed, all committee members are
responsible for insuring that the search process is as affirmative as possible.
Confidentiality
The importance of maintaining confidentiality should
also be stressed, especially in regard to the names of candidates and the status of their
candidacy. Administrative searches are often of interest to a wider public, both within
and outside the institution, and efforts may be made to "pump" individual committee
members for information as the search proceeds. The committee chair should be sure that
the committee complies with state open meetings and open records laws, and should consult
with the university's legal office if in doubt. Beyond that, however, the committee
should agree at the onset that only the chair can speak for the committee, and that any
inquiries concerning the committee's work should be referred to the chair.
Preparing the Announcement
Initial Draft
The hiring officer should prepare a draft of the position
announcement to be presented at the first committee meeting, giving the committee members
the opportunity to discuss the draft and recommend modifications at that time. In
particular, it's critical that the members understand and accept the conditions stated in
the announcement - especially the qualifications for the position - since these will form
the basis for their subsequent review of candidates.
Qualifications Specified
The position announcement should include a clear statement of the duties and
responsibilities of the position, as well as an explanation of the position's place in
the university's organizational structure. It should state the qualifications required
for the position, as well as qualifications that are preferred but not mandatory. Both
the hiring officer and the committee members should understand that they must follow the
required qualifications closely when reviewing candidates, so that no one who does
not meet those qualifications can be considered for the position. For this reason, it's
generally desirable to keep the requirements to a minimum, and to instead expand the list
of qualifications that are desired.
It may also be useful to include in the announcement a description of the setting for the position - the department, the college, or the university - for potential applicants who may not be familiar with it.
Application Information
The announcement should solicit both applications
and nominations. It should inform the reader as to how to submit an application or a
nomination by providing the name, mailing address, fax number, and e-mail address of the
person to whom they are to be sent (usually the chair of the search committee), and the
date on which the committee intends to begin reviewing applications. This date should be
one that will allow a reasonable amount of time for the position to be announced and for
interested persons to respond; it will therefore depend to some extent on the publication
dates of the outlets in which the announcement is to be placed. Ordinarily the deadline
is qualified by the statement "or until the position is filled," to allow the committee
to add candidates after the deadline if they choose to do so.
References
The announcement should also include information regarding
references. For administrative appointments, a request for the names and telephone
numbers of five references is recommended since, as will be discussed later, structured
telephone interviews with references usually provide more helpful information than do
letters.
