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Conducting an Equitable Search
The University of Michigan has published a Handbook for Faculty Searches and Hiring that contains detailed instructions on how to conduct an equitable search that enhances the diversity of the applicant pool and the possibility of hiring excellent diverse candidates.
This handbook was developed in collaboration with the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Program and includes information such as:
- initiating the search process and ensuring a broad candidate pool
- creating the search committee
- utilizing active recruiting practices during the search
- conducting and documenting a fair selection process at each stage
- organizing and managing interviews and campus visits
The handbook also includes sample template documents, such as the applicant and candidate evaluation tools. The applicant evaluation tool is designed for reviewing applicants’ files, and the candidate evaluation tool is intended for job candidate evaluations following the job talk. Both templates are provided with the expectation that departments will tailor them appropriately to meet individual needs.
Additionally, this article in The Chronicle of Higher Education discusses several strategies to ensure that the matrix used to evaluate candidates does not yield biased results when evaluating female candidates or candidates from underrepresented groups. Another article in the same series covers how to effectively read a candidate’s CV to improve the prospects of fairness and success in faculty searches.
Training Opportunities
- Please see Learning and Development Series for the full list of workshops supporting diverse hiring, recruitment, and evaluation processes. Registration is open now for Spring 2023.
- Faculty Recruitment Workshop for Diversity and Excellence: This University of Michigan STRIDE slide presentation reviews research on search committee practices and implicit bias in faculty recruitment. Additionally, this article evaluates the workshop’s effectiveness.
Implicit Bias Materials
These videos produced by Google, explain unconscious bias:
- Making the unconscious conscious (3:58 min) Short, basic explanation.
- Implicit Bias at Work (1-hour) Extensive review of implicit bias research; includes a demonstration of the Implicit Bias Test developed by Harvard University.
Howard Ross, one of the world's thought leaders on identifying and addressing Unconscious Bias did a series of talks on this subject for various organizations, including Google:
- A Conversation on Hidden Bias, Part I (45 min)
- Everyday Bias: Identifying and Navigating Unconscious Judgment Part II (58 min)
- A Conversation on Hidden Bias (Q & A) Part III (35 min)
Booklet/Tool Kits
An excellent resource to examine the research on implicit bias in academic searches is Reviewing Applicants: Research on Bias and Assumptions. This booklet was developed by the University of Wisconsin’s ADVANCE program.