“A homogenous university faculty limits student and faculty creativity, discovery, and satisfaction…1
1Apfelbaum EP, Phillips K, Richeson JA. 2014. Rethinking the baseline in diversity research: Should we be explaining the effects of homogeneity? Perspectives in Psychological Science 9: 235–244.
…whereas diversity in science furthers social justice, expands workforce talent, and increases objectivity.”2
2Intemann K. 2009. Why diversity matters: Understanding and applying the diversity component of the National Science Foundation’s Broader Impacts Criterion. Social Epistemology 23: 249–266.
Question for your group:
What factors do you think lead to a homogeneous* faculty composition in STEM departments?
*81% of tenure-track STEM faculty at public and land-grant institutions are men (USA); 68-89% of grade C-A STEM faculty are men (UK)
Question for your group:
What training, formal or otherwise, have you had before engaging in a faculty search?
“Self-determination theory proposes that creativity, motivation, and performance thrive when three particular psychological needs are satisfied:
The Experiment!
23 faculty searches across STEM disciplines were invited to participate in this experiment/training program; all accepted.
Split into a control group (9) and the test group (14)
Control group preparation for hiring search
Test Group Procedures
Competency (1/3)
“…enhance the competence of the search committee by delivering concrete strategies for conducting a broad applicant search in the form of a printed ‘faculty search toolkit.’”
Test Group Procedures
Autonomy (2/3)
“…enhance the autonomy of the search committee by showing them how to gain better control over possible unintentional biases in their decision-making through a 30-minute oral presentation … on the role of implicit gender bias in skewing the candidate-screening and interview processes.”
Test Group Procedures
Relatedness (3/3)
“…enhance the relatedness … by both connecting the search committee with a peer faculty member who was supportive during the entire search process and by specifically connecting job finalists with a faculty ‘family advocate’ totally independent from the search for a confidential 15-minute conversation.”
Other selections from the MSU Faculty Search Toolkit FAQ:
“Won’t this lead to ‘reverse discrimination’?”
“Isn’t it better to ignore demographics and focus just on the quality?”
Other selections from MSU Faculty Search Toolkit:
“Look at productivity rate instead of career productivity, such as publications per year since receipt of PhD instead of total number of career publications.”
Wait to review letters of recommendation until after the list has been narrowed down.
Women do not self-promote as much as men, so consider that you should do your own identification of standout accomplishments.
Red Flags during hiring search meetings, from MSU Faculty Search Toolkit
“Their personality isn’t a good match for us.”
“I don’t think they’d like living here.”
“The comment made during their seminar made them totally unsuitable for the position.”