III.3 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

The goals of the University's affirmative action requirements are to provide equal access and equal employment opportunity to all groups of people. The University's equal employment opportunity/affirmative action policy statement is available on this website. Several new affirmative-action documents related to the recruitment and hiring of faculty and academic staff are found in Appendix A at the end of this chapter. Questions should be directed to Maggie Sullivan (3-2315) or Joyce Helt (3-2312) or the Equity and Diversity Resource Center (3-2378).

Faculty Recruiting & Faculty Senate Policies

The faculty policy toward affirmative action in hiring is contained in Faculty Senate Document 257, adopted in September, 1976, which recommends that deans "withhold approval of any tenure-track appointment not accompanied by specific evidence of a search in which every reasonable effort was made to identify and interest qualified women or minority candidates." The legislation is reprinted following this section. The requirement "that such evidence be forwarded to the Chancellor whenever a dean recommends a tenure-track appointment" is fulfilled by the Recruitment Efforts Plan (REP) and the Applicant Data Card (samples of both are found in Appendix A), which must be forwarded to the Dean's Office when a staffing selection has been made, prior to the processing of payrolling documents. The campus Equity and Diversity Resource Center has the responsibility of reviewing REPs before releasing Position Vacancy Listings (PALS, see sample in Appendix A) for recruitment. Departments seeking guidance in recruitment efforts in search of affirmative action applicants will find this office can help with suggestions such as professional organizations, minority publications, and other groups to contact to expand the pool of candidates.

The College normally provides funding to assure that departments can bring two potential faculty candidates to campus in connection with each authorized faculty appointment. (Departments are of course free to use their own funds for this purpose as well.) For a number of years it has been College practice to provide funds for one additional visit if the department has identified an affirmative action candidate who might not be one of the two top candidates for a position, but whom the department would nevertheless like to bring for a campus visit. Departments that have located such a candidate should contact the appropriate academic Associate Dean.

In order to emphasize the College commitment to affirmative action and to encourage departments to make the most energetic search possible, the Dean and the Associate Deans will review departmental search procedures closely at the time a department requests permission to bring candidates to campus and, subsequently, to make appointment offers. They will request information on affirmative action candidates and may ask to review vitas of an expanded group of potential appointees. Since the College typically authorizes more faculty searches than it anticipates having the funds and positions to fill (in the expectation that some searches will be unproductive and unexpected vacancies may develop late in the year), there will usually be more departmental recruitment underway than there are prospective openings. The College is thus in a position to give the edge on actual appointments to those departments turning up the most attractive candidates, including those who will help meet affirmative action goals.

While open recruitment is expected for all types of hiring, it may be possible to waive open recruitment in situations that advance affirmative action hiring. Departments believing they have such situations should contact Joyce Helt (3-2312) or the academic Associate Dean. The requirements for PALS, posting and advertisement of jobs and other forms of open recruitment, and Applicant Data Cards are not limited to faculty appointments, but apply to all unclassified appointments.

Go to EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICY STATEMENT