DEI Development Program for Faculty Searches
DEI Among CC Faculty
At CC, we believe it is vitally important for our faculty searches to be inclusive and equitable. The DEI Development Program for Faculty Searches supports hiring departments in their efforts to conduct equitable and inclusive searches that support the College’s efforts to increase the diversity of the faculty.
The Program
Purpose:
- to decrease bias during the faculty search process
- to give search committees the tools and strategies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the search process
Goals:
- to foster inclusive and equitable search processes
- to increase diversity in all the steps of the search process
- to increase the likelihood of hiring excellent candidates who diversify the faculty and the curriculum
Structure & Organization:
- Just-in-time and flipped “classroom” approach
- Four steps in the development program spread across the academic year
- Information provided through recorded PowerPoint presentations and readings in Fine & Handelsman’s Searching for Excellence and Diversity: A Guide for Search Committees (2012) (see resources below)
- Separate development sessions for each search committee so members can discuss how they will apply DEI strategies and an antiracist lens to their search
NOTE: In the final session, faculty will have an opportunity to discuss best practices for welcoming and retaining new faculty and creating a healthy department/program climate.
Zoom Recorded Presentations:
PowerPoint Slides for Presentations:
Meeting Session Agendas:
Additional Resources:
Checklist for Position Description (Step 1)
Applicant Material Review Process (Step 2)
Affinity Bias Activity Sheet (Step 3)
Program & Tenure Track Searches Report AY 20-21
Questions Addressed in Each Program Step:
Step 1: DEI & the Position Description (July or August)
- How do we define diversity, equity, and inclusion for the purposes of this training?
- What does compositional diversity look like among faculty nationally and at Colorado College?
- What is bias?
- What is the relationship between bias, categorizing, generalizing, & stereotyping?
- What does research tell us about bias and the search process?
- How do you attract a diverse candidate pool?
- How do you create a position description that encourages a diverse candidate pool?
Step 2: Reviewing Applicants (Blocks 1 or 2)
- What is an antiracist approach and how does it relate to DEI?
- How do you sustain DEI throughout the search process?
- What does your bias look like?
- What are the characteristics of everyone’s bias?
- How do you minimize bias when reviewing applicants?
- How do you review applicants equitably?
Step 3: Interviewing Candidates (Blocks 3 or 4)
- What kind of interview process is typically used at CC?
- What are effective interview questions?
- What are inappropriate interview questions?
- What are DEI challenges in the interview process?
- What is affinity bias?
- What is the purpose of candidate’s meeting with the Senior Associate Dean of Equity, Inclusion, & Faculty Development?
- How should candidate interviews be evaluated?
Step 4: Welcoming New Faculty & Retention, Reflecting on the Search Process & the Program (Blocks 6 or 7)
- What is workplace climate?
- What characteristics of an unhealthy department/program climate that inhibit faculty from thriving professionally?
- What characteristics of a healthy department/program that promote faculty success?
- How do you welcome new faculty?
- How do you retain faculty?
Resources for Faculty Search Process
- Columbia University (2016, July). Guide to best practices in faculty search and hiring.
- Fine, E. & Handelsman, J. (2012). Searching for excellence and diversity: a guide for search committees. National Edition. WISELI: Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. (Amazon purchase, physical copy)
- Fine, E. & Handelsman, J. (2012). Searching for excellence and diversity: a guide for search committees. 2nd Edition. WISELI: Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute. (free e-copy)
- Fine, E. & Handelsman, J. (2012). Reviewing applicants: Research on bias and assumptions. WISELI, Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Lam, M. B., & Finn, A. (May 15, 2018). How do you read the diversity statement? Inside HigherEd.
- Ross, H. (August 2008). Proven strategies for addressing unconscious bias in the workplace. CDO Insights.
- UCBerkeley. Rubric for assessing candidate contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Berkeley Office of Faculty Equity & Welfare.
Resources for Departments/Programs
General Resource
- Stewart, A. J., & Valian, V. (2018). An inclusive academy: achieving diversity and excellence. The MIT Press. (This resource is available as an e-book from Tutt Library)