Faculty Hiring Process

Once an academic unit has received permission from the Dean to search for a full-time faculty member, the head of the academic unit will complete the Personnel Requisition Form and will prepare a position description.  These two documents will be submitted to the Dean, who will forward them to the Provost.  Once the Personnel Requisition Form has been completed with all necessary signatures, the academic unit may begin its search.

Position search advertisements must be approved by the appropriate Dean.  The ad should include the desired rank, whether the position is tenure-track, and the first date applications will be reviewed.  All required credentials for the position must be included in every ad.  When economically feasible, information about Park’s identity, location, and mission should be included. 

The position will be advertised in collaboration with the University’s Department of Human Resources.  Advertising media should include the Chronicle of Higher Education and/or other discipline-specific media, as well as online services.  An additional effort should be made to advertise in media frequently used by members of underrepresented groups.  Academic units also are encouraged to use professional networking to solicit applications.

Search committees should be composed of a number of faculty members from that academic unit; in cases of small departments, additional faculty may be appointed from related units.  Search committees should include at least one member of an underrepresented group.  In some cases, appropriate members external to the University may be added to the Search Committee.  Although the head of the academic unit recommends the composition of the Search Committee, it must be approved by the appropriate Dean.  Whenever possible, a student representative also should be included.

The Department of Human Resources will collect data on the diversity of the applicant pool and share the results with the Search Committee.  All applications will be acknowledged with an appropriate letter from the head of the Search Committee.

Once all credentials have been viewed by the Search Committee, the names of two to four candidates should be forwarded to the Dean/Associate Dean for approval to proceed with reference calls.   Prior to any reference calls, the Search Committee Chair should contact the candidate and inform him/her about the status of the search, ask if the candidate is still interested in the position, and receive permission to call the candidate’s references, including the immediate supervisor of the candidate. At this point it is permissible for the Search Committee Chair to inform the candidate of Park University’s salary range for the position, as published in the Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Reference calls usually involve a core set of questions that are asked about each candidate, with additional follow-up questions as needed.  More than one committee member should call references for a single candidate, but no reference should be contacted more than once.

Upon completion of the reference calls, the Search Committee will meet and recommend to the Dean a list of candidates to be invited for campus interviews.  The Dean can approve all the recommended candidates or a subset of the recommended candidates as finalists.  The Dean may also elect to invite an additional candidate or candidates.

In preparation for campus interviews, the Search Committee should prepare a set of core questions to be asked of each finalist. During this interview process, each finalist should meet with the Provost or his/her representative, the Search Committee, the appropriate Dean(s), the departmental faculty and students. When the position involves teaching or work with a graduate program, the Graduate Dean also should interview the finalists.  Where possible and appropriate, the finalist should make a presentation to a class and the available departmental faculty.

Upon completion of the interview process, the Search Committee, with the approval of the candidate, may make additional reference calls to individuals not appearing on the candidate’s reference list. 

The Search Committee will send the Dean an unranked list of two to three acceptable candidates for the position.  An assessment of each candidate, identifying skills, abilities, and concerns, should accompany the list.  Meetings between the Dean(s) and the Search Committee may be held to discuss options.  The Dean will submit a recommendation to the Provost, who, in consultation with the President, shall have the final approval for hire.

After receiving the Provost’s approval, the Dean shall complete the Personnel Information Form.  The Dean (in consultation with the Provost, the President, and others, and consistent with the Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement) shall determine the professorial rank, the salary, the tenure credit, if any, the primary teaching field(s), secondary teaching field, if any, and eligibility for TIAA-CREF participation. 

When the Personnel Information Form is completed with all appropriate signatures, the Dean will offer the position to the successful candidate.  If the offer is accepted, the letter of appointment will be issued by the Provost.  The letter will specify rank, salary, tenure credit, if any, primary teaching field, secondary teaching field, if any, the name and title of the immediate supervisor, and eligibility for TIAA-CREF participation.  A copy of this letter will be mailed to the Dean and the candidate’s immediate supervisor.

After receiving a signed letter of appointment from the candidate, the Search Committee Chair will correspond with all other applicants informing them that the search has ended.

Approved Academic Cabinet
March 2, 2006

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