The University of Alabama at Birmingham has published new guidelines for faculty searches in an effort to recruit and retain a diverse faculty and diverse leadership teams.

The new guidance, under the direction of UAB President Ray L. Watts and created by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, aligns with the priorities of the university’s Strategic Diversity Plan. This effort strengthens  UAB’s longtime commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in faculty hiring by introducing and integrating new best practices for faculty searches.

The UAB Faculty Searches: Guide to Best Practices outlines the steps of the recruitment process, from the initial idea and need for a position through the beginning of employment on campus.

“UAB is committed to pursuing intentionally the benefits of diversity in recruiting for all employee positions, including faculty and administrator positions for which search committees are typically used,” said Watts. “Recruiting outstanding faculty and administrators is essential in ensuring the university remains innovative, nationally, and globally competitive, and successful in our mission to prepare the next generation of scholars and leaders in 21st-century fields.

The faculty search guide provides a framework with specific steps to aid search committees before the search, during the search, and when completing the search. It includes examples such as sample faculty recruitment plans, sample committee protocols, sample evaluation tools, and offer letter templates.

In a charge issued to vice presidents, deans, and department chairs to mark the release of the search guide, Watts said the goal is to “enhance the diversity and workings of search committees so that they have a true commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence.”

Watts’s presidential guidance addresses several key areas including:

• Department chairs and search committee chairs must ensure diversity in race, gender, and perspectives on all committees.
• The race, gender, and diversity of committee members must be recorded before the committee begins the search.
• The search committee chair must ensure that the records for the search show the special efforts made to attract underrepresented groups to the search.
• The department chair will charge the committee to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in its process.
• An Equity Advisor must be actively involved in the search process, including in the creation of the advertisement, developing the applicant pool, assessing the shortlist, evaluating the applicants' credentials, and generally challenging assumptions and biases.
• The search committee chair will distribute and review the available resources on searches, recruitment, hiring, and best practices for achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion located on the Faculty Resource portal.
• Each member of each search committee will be required to take the implicit bias training provided on-demand by the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and that the Equity Advisor report compliance with this requirement to the department chair before the committee begins its work.

“We want committees to represent our diverse campus community and work to recruit and hire the best and brightest candidates for open positions,” said Paulette Patterson Dilworth, PhD, vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “The presidential guidance from Dr. Watts and the search guide are major steps toward making sure UAB’s hiring practices are fair and equitable, particularly for those in underrepresented groups.”

Ultimately, the purpose of the guide is to ensure UAB's search processes produce not only a diverse pool of candidates but, also diverse search committees.

“As UAB’s chief academic officer, I can say that there is no goal more important in the University’s strategic plan than working toward the same diversity in our faculty ranks as we have in our student ranks,” said senior vice president for academic affairs and Provost Pam Benoit. “I look forward to seeing the results of this effort to meet that goal.”

Read the guide here.