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THE
RECRUITMENT OF REGULAR FACULTY
1. Responsibility
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Recruiting
tenure-track faculty members is the responsibility of each department, acting
under the leadership of its chair and in partnership with the Dean of the
College and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Recruiting
one-year full-time faculty members (including professional and technical
personnel, and individuals for post-doctoral or fellowship positions which may
or may not be continuing) is the responsibility of the department chair and the
Dean, who will follow a simplified version of these procedures. [The chair
should confer with the Dean before embarking on such a process.]
[Recruiting part-time
faculty is the primary responsibility of the chair (or the chair’s designee);
however, initial and continuing approval from the Dean is required for each of
these hires. See separate policy document, Recruitment of Part-Time Faculty.]
Attainment
of the doctorate (or the highest professional degree in the field in which the
faculty member will be teaching and pursuing scholarship) is normally an
absolute condition for appointment as a tenure-track faculty member. This
condition should be made clear in all advertisements and also communicated to
all finalists at the time of the on-campus interview.
An
equally important condition is concrete evidence that the candidate is a
teacher/scholar and is willing to be part of this University’s Jesuit-Catholic
educational endeavor as described in the University Mission Statement.
a)
Obtaining authorization to recruit. Chairs will transmit to the
Dean their requests for permission to hire tenure-track faculty on two separate
occasions each year (dates may vary slightly from year to year):
o
By September 15, chairs submit to the Dean requests for
brand-new lines that they wish to see included in the next budget cycle. (If
approved, searches in those lines will not begin until one full year later.)
o
By May 15, chairs inform the Dean of known replacement needs due
to faculty members’ retirement or departure from the University. At this time
they also notify the Dean of anticipated hiring into any brand-new lines
approved for the coming year.
All requests in either
category should include detailed rationales and supporting documentation.
Under unusual circumstances
(e.g. in the case of late resignations), requests may be submitted at other
times during the year.
After careful review, well justified positions are authorized by
the Dean and the Vice-President for Academic Affairs. The Dean will inform the
department of their authorization to recruit.
b)
Setting parameters for the search. In discussing the
recruitment process for a given position with the chair of the relevant
department, the Dean will review the procedures outlined in this document. Together,
the chair and the Dean will determine a preliminary salary range and rank for
the new position. In disciplines where start-up costs are a significant
consideration, those should also be agreed. The proposed hiring procedure in
the department should also be discussed with, and approved by, the Dean.
The Dean may authorize travel expenses to
conventions for recruiting purposes, but these must be explicitly requested
during these preliminary discussions; expense requests submitted only after the
fact may not be approved.
A department may choose to designate a Search
Committee to work with the chair in conducting the recruitment process. When
this approach is adopted, every effort should be made to ensure diversity on
that Committee.
c) Preparing advertising copy.
The
department will establish job-related criteria (including agreed faculty rank
and the requirement that terminal degree be in hand), prepare an advertisement,
and transmit it to the Dean for approval. Besides the job-related criteria, all
advertisements must make clear that applicants are to submit a signed copy of
the current Application Form, a current curriculum vitae, three letters
of recommendation (at least one of which addresses teaching performance),
transcripts of all college-level work (photocopies or unofficial transcripts
are acceptable during the early stages of the process), current evidence of
outstanding teaching effectiveness (if available), and some indication of
research potential.
The department will also indicate
where it plans to advertise and at what cost.
d) Complying with affirmative
action guidelines. At the same time, the department will also submit the advertising copy
to the Affirmative Action Director. Concerted efforts should be made to support
the University’s mission to develop a diverse pool of candidates. The advertisement must therefore include statements like
the following:
o Creighton
University is a Jesuit, Catholic institution that encourages applications from
qualified individuals of all backgrounds who believe they can contribute to the
distinctive educational traditions of the university.
o Creighton is an EO/AA employer and seeks a wide range of
applicants for this position so that one of our core values--ethnic and
cultural diversity--may be realized.
e)
Placing the
advertisement. Once both the Dean and
the Affirmative Action Director have approved the advertisement, the department
is responsible for placing it in appropriate publications (following the plan
that was approved in step (c) above). Advertising expenses will be paid by the
College providing that both the advertising copy and the placement plans have been
approved in advance.
Separately,
the College may also place the approved copy on a national Web site. At this
date, the site adopted by the University is HigherEdJobs.com.
f)
Continuing
conformity with affirmative action policies. At this point and throughout the process, the chair will coordinate
recruitment efforts with the Affirmative Action Director. The Director will
provide the chair with appropriate materials to ensure that the University’s
commitment to diversity is served. The chair will provide whatever information
the Director requires regarding the progress of the hire.
g)
Initial review and recording of decisions. The department will be solely
responsible for conducting the initial review of applicants’ dossiers. The
chair will maintain a complete record of the reasons for eliminating each
candidate considered unsuitable for the position. Such elimination must be made
on the basis of the criteria outlined in the announcement of the position. This
record will ultimately be required by the Affirmative Action Director and by
Human Resources.
h)
Selecting
candidates to visit the campus. The
department will normally invite three candidates to campus for interviews for
each position. Each such candidate must be discussed with the Dean before she
or he is invited to visit the campus.
o
No candidate will be
approved for an on-campus visit until her or his file is complete. (For a list
of the items required to complete an applicant’s file, see step (c) above.)
o
If information about
a candidate’s teaching experience is unavailable or hard to evaluate, every
attempt (further references, personal telephone calls) must be made at this
point to address this issue.
o
Again, efforts
should be made to ensure, wherever possible, a diverse group of candidates on
the short list.
Those chosen to make a campus visit should be informed that the
College will reimburse them for reasonable expenses (travel, lodging, meals).
Requests for reimbursement are handled by the Assistant Dean for Administration
and Finance.
i)
Preparing candidates for their visits. The chair sends each
candidate to be interviewed a packet of useful and informative materials about
the department, the College and the University. The Dean’s Office may be
consulted in putting together such materials.
At or before the time of
the campus visit, the Dean will provide the candidate with a separate packet of
materials, including information about Omaha, a Faculty Handbook, and
basic facts about faculty benefits (including the University’s relocation
policy).
j)
Scheduling campus visits. Campus visits should include activities within
the department (or departments, plural,
in cases where teaching or research interests may involve interdisciplinary
work) that bring candidates into contact with as many interested individuals as
possible.
It is appropriate, and in most cases desirable,
for students to participate in some way. This may include, but not necessarily
be limited to, having each candidate teach a class and/or make a presentation
to students.
In addition, candidates
will always meet with the Dean (or the Dean’s designee) for a formal interview.
(As a matter of courtesy to the candidate as well as the Dean, please do not
schedule these interviews at the last moment.)
k)
Social aspects of the campus visit. It is important to use
on-campus time well so that the candidate may become thoroughly acquainted with
(and, we hope, attracted to) the department, the College, the University, and
the Omaha community. The visit should certainly include appropriate social
events, but expenses incurred for any one of these events should be reasonable.
In particular:
o
chairs should make use of the Omaha Press Club whenever possible
o
lunches may be held in on-campus venues
o
dinners should be limited to five guests (including the
candidate), all of whom should be members of the University community.
The Dean may not approve entertainment
reimbursement requests that are unreasonably large, especially where the
charges for alcohol are responsible for the high overall cost..
l)
Recommending a
candidate for an offer. When the campus
interviews have been completed, the department will further review the
qualifications of all the candidates and agree on one candidate whom they wish
to recommend for appointment. The chair will discuss this recommendation with
the Dean (who will in turn consult with the Academic Vice-President) before any
communication of the hiring choice is made to any candidate. The recommendation
should contain a frank and concrete evaluation of each of the persons
interviewed and should give evidence of the individual’s teaching ability,
scholarly accomplishment and promise, interest in service and appreciation of
the institutional mission.
m)
Extending an
offer. The Dean alone is authorized to
make the formal offer of a contract to the candidate. Normally, however,
the chair will discuss with the Dean the particulars of the offer that she or
he may then convey informally to the chosen candidate. The Dean will, in
particular, authorize the mention of a specific salary (or salary range) and,
where appropriate, a start-up package. The Dean will also discuss the
time-frame within which the candidate will be asked to respond to the informal
offer.
The
chair will then contact the candidate, extend the informal offer, and ask
the candidate whether he or she intends to accept it. The chair will exercise
reasonable caution in the course of her or his discussions with the candidate,
and will refer back to the Dean any new questions or conditions that may arise
during the course of their conversation.
If
the candidate indicates willingness to accept the informal offer, the
chair will communicate this to the Dean, who will immediately contact the
candidate and set in motion the process of issuing a formal offer, which
will lead to a letter of agreement and/or a faculty contract. (It is as part of
this process that candidates will be asked if necessary to furnish official,
original transcripts of their work towards academic degrees.)
If
the candidate does not accept the informal offer, the chair will again
consult with the Dean before making a new offer to a second candidate judged
eligible by the department.
n)
Closing out the search. Once a formal offer has been made and
accepted by one candidate, the chair notifies in writing the finalists who will
not receive offers and files the necessary affirmative action information with
the Affirmative Action Director.
o)
Welcoming the new colleague. As soon as possible thereafter, the chair
begins the process of welcoming the appointee to the College, by
o
sending a schedule of the courses she or he will teach
o
sending information about office arrangements and department
organization
o
recommending to the dean a faculty mentor
o
inviting the appointee to contact Human Resources about his or
her benefits choices
o
directing him or her to contact the Assistant Dean for Finance
about relocation procedures
o
notifying the appointee about new faculty orientation programs
conducted by the President and by the College and about other important dates
in the academic calendar
Adopted
by Council of Chairs, November 6, 2001
Minor
details revised by the Dean, July 18, 2005