Carnegie Mellon University

Preparing to Initiate the Search

A number of steps helpful to open and diverse searches are in the preparation stages of identifying the committee members, writing a welcoming advertisement about the postion, developing a conscise plan to solicit excellent and diverse applicants, and ensuring the committee members become familiar with implicit bias so that the committee can work together to reduce its effects.

  1. Reminder: A list of the search committee members must be provided to the Dean’s Office for approval prior to advertising the position, according to the MCS Policy on Faculty Searches.

    Some principles for forming effective search committees include:
    • Considering both junior and senior faculty and sub-disciplines within the Department can help support diverse perspectives.
    • Including members with diverse backgrounds, such as members of groups underrepresented in the department, can increase the committee’s attention to diversity issues in the search.
    • Involving a search committee member from outside the department, aside from the benefit of their specific research expertise, (1) facilitates questioning of disciplinary or departmental traditions that may serve as barriers to open searches and (2) expands the network of colleagues who may recommend a diverse group of potential applicants.
  2. A short email from the Department Head when the committee is finalized can stress the importance of their service and direct them to the link about becoming familiar with implicit bias and ways to reduce its effects on evaluations throughout the search process. Department Heads can provide additional emphasis according to the diversity needs of their programs.
  3. All members of a search committee are advocates for an open and equitable search process. In particular, the committee, as individuals and as a whole, is responsible for:
    • making evaluations that are free of bias or stereotyping of applicants in verbal or written communication,
    • ensuring that candidates are evaluated fairly,
    • developing a campus visit that provides similar opportunities for each candidate,
    • following interview procedures which treat all applicants consistently.

Recommended Resources

Crafting the Position [.pdf] (Columbia University, pp. 10-11)

  1. Reminder: The text of the proposed advertisement must be approved by the MCS Dean, per the MCS Policy on Faculty Searches.

  2. The minimum statement about diversity required for advertising any position at Carnegie Mellon is one of the following:

    “Carnegie Mellon University is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its community on a range of intellectual and cultural dimensions. Carnegie Mellon welcomes faculty applicants who will contribute to this diversity through their research, teaching and service, including women, members of minority groups, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, and others who would contribute in different ways.”

    or
    “Carnegie Mellon considers applicants for employment without regard to, and does not discriminate on the basis of, gender, race, protected veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and any additional legally protected status.”

    or
    “Carnegie Mellon is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer -- M/F/Disability/Veteran. We particularly encourage applications from candidates who have a demonstrated track record in mentoring and nurturing female and under-represented minority students.”

    or
    “Carnegie Mellon is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer -- M/F/Disability/Veteran” (short for print ads)

    It is recommended that online ads go beyond the required statements to indicate a welcoming environment for diverse candidates and CMU's Equal Opportunity Services can assist with this aspect of ad writing. For example, the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, (HERC) of over 30 member institutions located in the tri-state region offers resources for dual-career job seekers and you can include the following statement and link:

    “Carnegie Mellon University seeks to meet the needs of dual-career couples and is a member of the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) that assists with dual-career searches.”
  3. The advertisement for the position should ideally contain language about the department’s commitment to diversity in research, education and service. In order to facilitate equitable evaluation of applicants on diversity issues, departments can encourage all applicants to include their past or potential contribution to diversity and inclusion goals in their cover letter, e.g. their approaches to teaching or mentoring women or underrepresented minority students. Past or planned contributions to diversity can be listed as a desirable qualification in the ad, particularly in the longer web version.

  4. Detailed web advertisements should include the following in the position description to guide applicants and support effective, consistent committee evaluations:
    • the potential rank(s)/title(s);
    • the deadline for submitting applications or, if the search committee does not impose a deadline, the date when the screening of applications will begin;
    • the core responsibilities of the position;
    • the necessary qualifications (e.g. a Ph.D. in a closely related field, evidence of excellence in research); and
    • desirable qualifications (e.g. ability to secure research funding, ability to collaborate with a team, experience in teaching or mentoring students or junior colleagues, contributions to diversity through research, teaching or service).

Recommended Resources

Crafting the Position [.pdf] (Columbia University, pp. 17–19) — includes sample language

Faculty Hiring: Qualifications and Job Attributes (University of Oregon)

Guidelines for Writing Faculty Job Advertisements that Sincerely Welcome Broad Application of Qualified Candidates [.pdf] (U. of Washington)

  1. The search committee’s plan for diversifying the applicant pool may involve a number of components. A combination of activities is beneficial, with particular attention to contacting women and underrepresented group colleagues who may have diverse networks:
    • email/ phone colleagues about recent alumni and current postdocs who may be suitable for the opening,
    • contact directors of graduate programs (especially for identifying potential applicants from underrepresented groups),
    • listservs,
    • talent banks (see Sources for Outreach to Potential Faculty Candidates [.pdf], Harvard University),
    • fellowship recipients, and
    • the department’s own alumni.
  2. Normally, it is advantageous for all search committee members to contribute to identifying and contacting potential applicants and encouraging them to apply.

Recommended Resources

Developing a Search Plan [.pdf] (Columbia University)

Sources for Outreach to Potential Faculty Candidates [.pdf] (Harvard University)

Sample Search Plan [.doc]
This sample plan was developed to illustrate how a committee could diversify a potential medium energy search in the Physics Department

Resources for Enhancing Diversity (University of Washington)

Effective Pool Development Strategies [.pdf] (Cornell)

Diversity Recruitment Website Links (Case Western Reserve University)

  1. Reminder: Each committee member is responsible for gaining an understanding of how implicit biases can impact their own and others’ evaluations in order to keep the search process fair and inclusive, per the MCS Policy on Faculty Searches. Before the first committee meeting, all members of search committees are responsible for reviewing at least two of the following overviews of research on the unconscious biases in assessments that can affect decision making in the search process:
  2. It is recommended that the search committee discuss this research and related search committee strategies during the first search committee meeting before reviewing applicants to reinforce these concepts and their implications for the committee’s procedures. Search Committee Chairs are encouraged to contact Associate Deans Rea Freeland and Curtis Meyer to arrange for facilitators for this discussion.
  3. Developing ground rules for the committee’s work can be quite helpful to set the tone for following procedures consistent with the implicit bias research. For example, the search committee chair is encouraged to consider a combination of the following:
    • Engage all committee members in participating actively and maintain a climate where diversity can be discussed.
    • Discuss evaluation criteria prior to evaluating applicants and periodically throughout review to avoid shifting the criteria based on particular candidates. (See Developing a Short List of Candidates).
    • Distinguish between the brief review that must be done for all applications and the thorough review required for those who are under consideration for interviews. For example, chairs can suggest retention of the excellent diverse candidates on the “long short list” or “medium list” for the thorough review.
    • Focus on reasons for including applicants for further consideration rather than reasons for excluding them since research has shown this promotes a more careful, deliberate process that reduces bias.
    • Encourage committee members, to the extent possible, to minimize distractions and allow sufficient time for their thorough review of the candidates under consideration for interviews.

Recommended Resources

Searching for Excellence and Diversity: A Guide for Search Committees, 2012 [.pdf] (U. Wisconsin Madison). See two sections:

  • Tips and guidelines: Running an effective and efficient search committee (pp.11–16)
  • Raise Awareness of Unconscious Assumptions and their Influence on Evaluation of Applicants (pp. 43–50)

Implicit Association Test
The research project provides an opportunity to learn more about your social attitudes in relation to gender, race and other social dimensions through measures of associations between concepts. You will need to register to participate.

In a study with more than 200 academic psychology faculty, researchers used two CVs with actual data from the same person’s life (one which was used to get a first academic job and one used to get tenure), changing only the name. Participating faculty were asked to evaluate for one CV whether they would hire the person for a tenure track position and whether they would award tenure. Both male and female faculty members were more likely to offer a tenure track position when the resume/CV had a male name. Men and women were more likely to give a more positive evaluation to the male’s research, teaching and service for identical qualifications. However, there were no significant differences for decisions to award tenure based on these identical CVs (Steinpreis, Andrew. & Rtizke 1999).

In a similar study with identical resumes for a hypothetical lab manager position named either Brian Miller or Karen Miller, over 100 biology, chemistry and physics faculty judged the female to be less competent and less worthy to be hired. Both male and female faculty proposed higher salaries for the male and less mentoring for the female (Moss-Racusin, Dovidio, Brescoll, Graham, and Handelsman, 2012).

In a field experiment responding to over 1300 actual job ads in a variety of industries, economics researchers have also varied names on a resume that strongly suggest race (Emily or Gregg as typically white, and Lakisha or Jamal as typically African American). Job applicants with white names needed to send about 10 resumes to get one callback; those with African-American names needed to send around 15 resumes to get one callback. The researchers also varied the quality of the resume (e.g. years experience, gaps in employment) and a white name on the resume got similar callbacks to an African American name with 8 additional years of experience (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004).