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Evaluation of Candidates

  1. According to the timetable established by the chair of the search committee and the Dean of Faculty, the search committee should select the most favored candidates. Typically, a short list of applicants is selected by the committee for brief phone or videoconference interviews to reduce the list to two applicants to invite to campus. Applicants should be asked a consistent set of questions in order to maximize impartiality. Be sure to abide by the Guidelines for Interviewers at the end of this document.
  2. Consider constructing a rubric to be used in screening applicants. The Office of Academic Affairs has examples. 
  3. Be alert to biases that affect evaluation of minority and women candidates. Myra Gordon indicated that such "biases include inflexible preferences for certain schools over others with the accompanying assumption that no excellence can exist outside of them; distinct preferences for the linear career path when we know that many women and minorities have more circuitous paths; distinct preferences for some types of research while devaluating others." She goes on to say that "we must confront head-on the narrow notions of who is the 'best qualified'..." (p.192).
  4. Construct a list of questions that will be asked of all applicants.
  5. Prior to gaining approval from the Dean of Faculty to extend invitations to come to campus, a narrative should be submitted to the Dean of Faculty and the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that outlines the ways that members of the search committee have worked to ensure a diverse pool of applicants.  The goal is that such work will result in a candidate from an underrepresented group being among those recommended for a campus visit.
  6. The Dean of Faculty will carefully examine transcripts and other credentials. The dossiers for each of those selected will be accessible in Cornerstone for examination by the Dean of Faculty; the Provost; and the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Dean of Faculty and the chair of the search committee will then discuss the candidates before anyone is invited for a campus interview. A complete dossier normally consists of curriculum vitae, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and all correspondence with the candidate.