Appendix 3

Media School Hiring Policy

(Adopted 12/7/18)

1. The standing Hiring Committee consists of the DGS, DUS, and the unit directors.

2. During the spring semester, the Hiring Committee in collaboration with unit faculty creates a prioritized list of hiring needs for research, creative, and teaching positions. The Hiring Committee considers the impact of failed searches from the previous year when developing this list.

3. The hiring committee provides this list to the Deans no later than 1 week after the end of Spring semester.

4. The Deans, in consultation with the Hiring Committee, select the research and/or teaching positions for the years searches. Decisions about number of positions, rank of positions, and mix of teaching/research needs are determined by the Deans in consultation with the Hiring Committee. A search committee is formed for each position and includes representatives of the appropriate unit(s) and a non-voting graduate student representative. Search committees are formed by the Deans and approved by a majority vote of the Hiring Committee.

5. At least one faculty member of each search committee must attend the Diversity Training Session sponsored by VPFAA. All searches must comply with diversity policies of the University and Media School.

6. The following process is conducted for each line:

  1. The Deans, in consultation with the search committee, craft the job announcement.
  2. Each job announcement is circulated to the faculty for comment.
  3. Following a 5-working day comment period, the search committee and the Deans finalize the job announcement and place it in appropriate publications and websites.
  4. After the application deadline, the search committee recommends a list of no more than 10 applicants for further consideration. The list of candidates and corresponding applicant files is made available to the faculty for comment.
  5. Following receipt of comments, the search committee may engage in electronic (e.g., Zoom) interviews to narrow the pool. The committee may move directly to the identification of preferred candidates for campus interviews if all finalists are subject to the same process.
  6. The search committee recommends to the Dean candidates for campus visits.
  7. Once the finalists are approved, the search committee works with the Deans’ staff to arrange campus visits and maximize faculty participation during those visits.
  8. The search committee chair works with each finalist to arrange for letters of recommendation to be submitted and made available to the faculty.
  9. The search committee provides the schedule of visits to the entire Media School faculty.
  10. The search committee chair is responsible for working with the facilities staff to record the job talks and disseminate them to the faculty.
  11. Upon completion of the finalists’ visits, the search committee solicits electronic comments from all faculty and students and holds an open forum to discuss the candidates.
  12. The search committee meets to evaluate the finalists, first determining whether each meets the requirements of the position and then ranking them.
  13. The search committee sends a report, including the ranking recommendation, to the faculty.

7. All faculty members of the Media School are eligible to vote on all hires (within university guidelines). 

  1. Voting consists of two parts:
    1.  A yes/no vote on whether each candidate meets the requirements of the position.
    2. A ranking of candidates. Each candidate must be ranked by each voter. 
  2. The results of the vote and rankings are reported to the search committee chair who communicates them to the search committee.
  3. The search committee makes a recommendation to the Deans about the hire.
  4. The Deans then communicate the vote results to the Media School faculty.
  5. For a candidate to be hired, 60% of the faculty who voted must have indicated that the candidate meets the position requirements before an offer can be extended. 

8. If no finalists are determined to meet the position requirements, or all offers are rejected, the Dean and the search committee will discuss the possibility of additional interviews of applicants. If there are sufficient funds for additional interviews and potential candidates, the process resumes as of 6f. 

9. After a hire is made or a search fails: 

  1. The chair of the search committee works with the Deans’ staff to send an email to applicants who were not interviewed thanking them for their interest and notifying them that the search has concluded.
  2. The chair of the search committee works with the Deans’ staff to notify other finalist(s) of the search’s completion, preferably within 48 hours. 

 

Return to the governance document