GUIDELINES FOR FACULTY RECRUITMENT These guidelines are offered in order to make the faculty recruitment process comfortable and productive for all participants, and to insure that university personnel do not inadvertently violate federal guidelines involving privacy and avoidance of discrimination. This document is designed for recruitment of full-time faculty members, but the sections dealing with legal issues apply to recruitment of part-time instructors as well. Since the VPAA has ultimate responsibility for faculty recruitment, questions about any stage in the following guidelines should be addressed to him/her. Announcement of Position and Initial Screening of Applications Positions approved for recruitment will be determined by the process endorsed by the Faculty Assembly in Fall, 1997. a.
b. When a new faculty position has been approved, the VPAA confers with the appropriate
school dean and department chair before naming a search committee. In addition to the persons just named, the committee normally consists of two or three additional persons from the department involved or from related departments. c. The screening committee develops a job description, a time table with deadline for
receiving applications, and an announcement to be posted in/on venues such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, professional association websites, and professional journals. The position must also be advertised in avenues aimed at underrepresented populations. Frequently, position announcements also are sent to some graduate schools, to ensure a wider candidate pool. Potential candidates are requested to send a letter of application in which they state their philosophy of education; a resume; letters of reference; and other pertinent materials, including a diversity statement. Members of the committee review applications as they arrive. It also is customary to post the announcement on the Virginia Wesleyan home page. As applications arrive, files are created in the Academic Affairs office and members of the screening committee are encouraged to review applications on a regular basis. It is important that no evaluative comments be written on the application materials, but separate note taking by screening committee members is encouraged so that candidate credentials will not blur with one another during subsequent meetings of the screening committee. d.
Once the published deadline for receiving applications has passed, the VPAA calls a meeting of the committee for the purpose of a final screening in which the top candidates are identified. The screening process will include a consideration of professional experience and the candidates’ ability to teach and mentor students from diverse populations. A short list of 510 individuals will be identified for phone or video interviews. Short lists must include at least one candidate from an underrepresented population. Normally the top three candidates are invited to the University for interviews which take from one to one and one-half days. Included in the interview process are those faculty members whose teaching fields are in some way related to that of the candidate, the four school deans, the president, the VPAA, and a representative group of students. Faculty members and students who have a particular interest in a given position may ask to be included in the interview process. The object is to allow those who participate in the interviews to have free exchanges with the candidates and to give the candidates a full understanding of the position and a strong "feel" for the nature of the University. e.
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