Welcome to this guidebook on searching for faculty excellence at Tulane!
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are cherished values at Tulane and critical components of our commitment to excellence. They need to be integrated into all aspects of our operations, especially how we search for and recruit our colleagues - faculty, staff, and administrative leaders.
A successful search has two basic components – attracting a diverse pool of applicants and constructing an equitable process by which to engage with and assess the candidates. This guidebook addresses both of these challenges and is based on a growing body of research.
Attracting a diverse pool of candidates requires that we do more than simply place ads in the usual settings. Rather, the process of building an applicant pool for a faculty search should begin years in advance, with an active effort to find exciting candidates, especially those from underrepresented groups, build relationships, and encourage interest in Tulane. This has numerous long-term benefits for the department and university that extend far beyond any individual search.
A typical evaluation process can echo the numerous inequities faced by those from historically underrepresented groups, and the result is that we can miss talent and overlook some who would make extraordinary contributions to our community. The research makes clear that structured protocols in faculty searches improve the chances of the strongest candidate emerging successfully from the search and produce more equitable and inclusive outcomes.
As a final comment, we note that higher education is an intensely competitive landscape, and that is nowhere truer than in the efforts to find and recruit top talent. If we want to compete as successfully as possible, then we need to adopt these best practices. This faculty search guidebook is intended to support you in understanding how to implement these evidence-based searches. This guidebook also provides important information on legal and ethical practices we must adhere to.
Thank you for all you do for Tulane, and for your commitment to Tulane excellence.
Anneliese Singh
Associate Provost for Diversity and Faculty Development and Chief Diversity Officer
Robin Forman
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Faculty Search Training Guidebook
Faculty Search Training Slides
