Just as it is important to plan for outreach and assessment, it is important to plan for final selection, negotiation, and recruitment.
5.1 Outlining a Recruitment Strategy
Unlike creating strategies for other stages of a faculty search, units likely will be unable to create a recruitment strategy until near the end of the process. Some issues to consider:
- How many viable candidates do you have?
- Do you have a clear rank order for the top candidates?
- If none of your top-ranked candidates accepts an offer, do you have additional candidates you would like to interview?
- If none of your top-ranked candidates accepts an offer, will it be best to fail the search and run it again?
- Given the specific field or subfield of the search, and given what you know about your top candidates, what issues do you anticipate might arise during negotiations?
5.2 Making an Offer
Typically, it is the responsibility of unit leadership to negotiate an offer of employment, after receiving approval from the appropriate dean or chancellor. Candidates should not be informed they will receive an offer of employment until after this approval has been granted. The terms of an offer vary considerably by field and by rank, but usually include salary, benefits, and some kind of start-up package. In many fields, assistant professor hires often also include a guaranteed course reduction before the review for tenure. Offers should also spell out in detail the unit’s expectations in terms of research, teaching, and service.
Additional issues to consider:
- To ensure equity, the salary and rank of the proposed position should be no less for a candidate who is female and/or from an underrepresented background than they would be for a white male candidate.
- Notify unsuccessful candidates only after an offer has been accepted, but prior to public announcements of the appointment.
- Although one should not directly ask a finalist about the need for partner accommodation or visa sponsorship, it is appropriate to ask if there are additional factors that would influence their decision to accept a position at UW.
- If partner accommodation is a concern, unit leadership should consult with the appropriate dean or chancellor about possibilities for employment within the unit, college or school, or university (e.g., tenure-track, teaching-track, or other instructional positions on a permanent or temporary basis, or various staff positions). The unit should also introduce the candidate to the Northwest Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (NW HERC) and its online regional job board. Information about NW HERC is available on the OFA website and in the Toolkit.
- The college/school, campus, or university may be able to offer recruitment incentives beyond the unit’s standard compensation package. In addition to partner accommodation, such incentives might include relocation funds, reduced teaching expectations, professional development funds, start-up funds, summer salary, and/or research support.
- The Office for Faculty Advancement administers the Provost’s Faculty Recruitment Initiative (FRI), which can provide supplemental funds to be used to leverage unit and dean’s resources when hiring faculty whose research, teaching, service, and/or outreach activities will contribute to the unit’s diversity mission. Details are available on the OFA website.
- The Office of Research (OR) administers the DEI STEM Faculty Recruitment Initiative, which can provide partial start-up funds when hiring faculty in STEM fields with a proven history of supporting and mentoring BIPOC students, post-docs, and/or early-career colleagues; conducting research that benefits underrepresented or underserved communities; and/or significantly participating in programs and activities that are aimed at increasing diversity and inclusion in their field. Details are available on the OFA and OR websites.