Before the Search

Preparing for the Search

Define the Position

Where feasible, assess availability in the field.

Review data from NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates or other sources, to determine the availability of women and faculty members from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in this discipline and subfield, including Black/African American, Asian, Latinx/Hispanic, and Native American candidates.

Define the position.

Define the position, including subfield(s) and rank(s) that will be recruited.

• Keep the position description as general as possible, to encourage a broad pool. Avoid narrowing the field so much that highly qualified applicants decide not to apply. For example, subfields might be listed as preferences rather than requirements.
  
• Consider the rank of the position. Note that in general, more junior ranks will have greater availability of women and of candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.

Consider including support for diversity as a criterion for the position.

One criterion might be the ability to succeed in teaching a diverse population of students including first generation students, students from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and international students. This requirement can also be a selection criterion. Sample job ad language for this criterion could include:

"We seek faculty candidates who have experience or evidence of the potential for success in teaching a diverse population of students, including first generation students, students from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and international students."

Consider whether the position should be part of a cluster hire.

NYU’s Faculty Cluster Hiring Initiative supports recruitment of multiple faculty members across departments and/or schools, who work in a shared area and provide mutual support and strength in that area.

Cluster hiring is a valuable strategy to recruit faculty members with diverse research and life experiences, commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, dedication to building inclusive educational environments and commitment to public engagement.  These faculty advance NYU’s academic excellence; provide support for students, researchers, and other faculty from historically underrepresented groups; and build NYU’s capacity for positive impact. Cluster hires are approved by deans and directors.

It is most immediately the responsibility of the search committee to ensure that active steps are taken to include women and faculty members from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups at each stage of the search process, and to ensure that all faculty candidates are evaluated fairly.

Form a diverse search committee.

Create a search committee that includes faculty members from underrepresented groups and women faculty wherever possible.

• Where the department does not have a diverse faculty, faculty members from other departments who have expertise in the field may be invited to serve.
• Be mindful that women faculty and faculty from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups often face numerous requests for service. Make sure that service obligations for these faculty are manageable.
• Appoint a search committee chair who is a strong supporter of faculty diversity.

Appoint a Diversity Advocate or Good Practices Monitor.

Consider appointing a faculty member on each committee who will serve as the Diversity Advocate or Good Practices Monitor. That individual should ensure that best practices for inclusive searches are followed. This person should be a senior member of the faculty. The diversity advocate does not necessarily have to be a woman or a faculty member of color, and women and faculty members of color should not feel pressured to assume this role.

Review data on faculty composition in the department.

At the outset of the search, review current data on the composition of the full-time faculty in the department in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and type of position (Tenured/Tenure Track or Continuing Contract.)

Train the search committee on avoiding unconscious bias.

Ensure that all members of the search committee have completed the training from the Office of Equal Opportunity, “OEO 601: Best Practices for Inclusive Faculty Searches,” which includes information on avoiding unconscious bias, in the last year or two.

Register for OEO 601: Best Practices for Inclusive Faculty Searches »

Include EEO Tagline or AA and EEO policy statement.

Per NYU’s hiring policy, and in accordance with applicable law, all job postings shall include the EEO tagline or the Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity policy statement.

Use inclusive language.

Researchers find that the language used in faculty ads has an impact on who applies for the position.* The job ad should use language that is broad, inclusive and welcoming. Consider using a tool (PDF: 171KB) such as Textio or Gender Decoder to review language in the job ad and strengthen its appeal to broad audiences.

Post the position to Interfolio.

Per NYU policy, searches should be conducted for all full-time faculty positions (unless a search waiver (PDF: 336KB), has been approved).

• All searches should be posted to Interfolio. Interfolio will assign each posting a URL for applicants to access; the URL should be included in all advertisements.
• All positions posted on Interfolio are automatically posted on the NYU Careers site. From this site, the posting is linked to the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) for distribution through its regional and national higher education career websites, the New York State Job Bank, and to diverse job seeker venues.
  

Post the job ad early and widely.

• Post job ads as early as possible, to increase exposure to the position.
• Job ads should be posted widely, including in publications and on websites designed to reach women and members of underrepresented groups.
  
• Professional associations may have mailing lists of women and underrepresented faculty members; other professional organizations may have interest groups that serve these populations directly. Job ads should be sent to these associations as well.
• Sample locations for job postings to attract diverse candidates are here (View-only Google Sheets; Net ID required to view).

Adjunct faculty play an important role at NYU. Identifying new adjunct faculty members differs from searching for new full time faculty; for example, adjunct positions are part time and may open with short notice, and candidates are often local.

At the same time, some of the same strategies used for full time faculty searches, may help to diversify recruitment of new adjunct faculty - for example, post an announcement of an adjunct position (when possible), use inclusive language in the description of the position, search actively by looking beyond existing networks (e.g., outreach to professional organizations), and avoid potential biases in reviewing expressions of interest for adjunct positions.

Locations for posting job ads for new adjunct faculty positions include:

• Social media platforms. Post openings for new adjunct faculty to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media platforms. The person who posts the ad should have a relatively large and diverse network on that platform, and/or should tag individuals/groups/organizations that have large networks (especially existing, relevant NYU accounts on each of these platforms) to recirculate the ad among their networks.
• Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. The School Human Resources Officer can contact the NYU Office of Equal Opportunity to get access for posting positions on the HERC website.
• New York State Job Bank. Schools can create free accounts to post new adjunct openings. Ads should include an email address for submitting expressions of interest.

*Gaucher, D., Friesen, J. & Kay, A. C. (2011). "Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(1), 109–128.