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Search Costs |
These are the procedures for chairs of search committees and faculty secretaries for tenure track positions and continuing non-tenure track appointments. This site outlines pertinent policies and procedures for searches recommended by the Committee on Appointments and approved by the President. Authorization information for new faculty positions is available elsewhere. If you have any questions or suggestions about the search process, send an e-mail message to or call Barbara Burns (5055), who will help you with the logistics of searches. |
SEARCH COSTS ADVERTISING POSITIONS
Advertisements should contain the name of the department, field, rank and/or special qualifications, criteria (e.g., Ph.D. in hand, prior teaching experience), materials to be submitted (e.g., curriculum vitae and three current letters of reference are standard; some departments ask for full career placement dossiers, some ask for writing samples), the person to whom materials should be sent, the College's full street address (101 N. Merion Avenue), the deadline for applications, and the following wording: The Provost, the Committee on Academic Priorities, and the Committee on Appointments review and approve the ad language. The ad is posted on the College's website for seaches. After the expense for the ad(s) has been approved by the Provost, the search chair may place the ad in one or two professional newsletters. A single appearance of an ad in two or three publications can be covered by the Faculty Search budget. The Provost's Office places a composite ad in the Chronicle of Higher Education, advertises online though Academic Careers Online, and enrolls the College in the National Minority Faculty Identification Program. Special attention should be given to advertising in places where minority candidates can be reached. However, it is important not to rely on advertisements alone in recruiting candidates. Special efforts are needed if we are to succeed in hiring outstanding new faculty in a highly competitive market. Faculty members on the committee should use their respective professional networks to seek out strong candidates and contact graduate departments noted for training scholars in the field. Such personal contacts are particularly important in recruiting minority candidates. For additional advice on strategies of minority recruitment, see Attention in Searches to Minority Recruitment and Multicultural Issues. THE SEARCH COMMITTEE
The Committee on Appointments member who sits on a search committee is present primarily to ensure procedural integrity and observance of College practices and policies. She or he is not expected to read applications at the initial level. However, the chair of the search committee should advise that member of dates when the applications are ready for reading; meeting dates for each of the discussions in which initial cuts, interim or semi-finalist selections will be made and when the final selection of candidates for on-campus visits will be made; and of information (dates, times, and places) for all on-campus activities scheduled for each invited candidate (e.g.,interviews, talks, classes, etc.). The Committee on Appointments member will not cast a vote, but may contribute to the coversations about candidates.
Search committees must adhere to the language of the advertisement.
Search committees must make a reasonable effort, both in soliciting the initial pool of candidates and in the interim and final selection processes, to fulfill the College's goal of creating and maintaining a diverse faculty. In particular, search committees can work in conjunction with the Faculty Diversity Liaison to try to recruit diverse candidates and in the consideration of these candidates during the search process.
REVIEWING AND RESPONDING TO APPLICATIONS Applications should be acknowledged by a card or letter, and sent to the candidate's home address whenever possible. Include in the letter a request for information related to the College's interest in recruiting minority candidates; see EEOC procedures. Applicants should be kept informed about the status of their candidacy as the search proceeds. SEARCH COMMITTEE MEMBERS' TRAVEL Travel plans for both search committee members and candidates must be approved by the Provost and made in accordance with the College's travel guidelines, such as those for faculty travel, which are available online.
The Provost's Office has a budget for Faculty Searches, managed by Barbara Burns. Departments must obtain advance approval for expenditures, as noted in the various categories below. Bills and journal entries for approved expenses should be sent to the Provost's Office. All travel expense forms and request for payment forms should be completely filled in and forwarded to the Provost's Office for processing. Items not covered by the Faculty Search budget include office supplies, stationery, stamps, and duplication costs. See below for guidelines on travel expenses and campus visit costs.
The search committee chair, in consultation with departmental or program colleagues, drafts an advertisement for the position and submits it to the Provost's Office for approval.
Located in suburban Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr College is a highly selective liberal arts college for women who share an intense intellectual commitment, a self-directed and purposeful vision of their lives, and a desire to make meaningful contributions to the world. Bryn Mawr comprises an undergraduate college with 1,200 students, as well as coeducational graduate schools in some humanities, sciences, and social work. The College supports faculty excellence in both teaching and research, and participates in consortial programs with the University of Pennsylvania, and Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. Bryn Mawr College is an equal-opportunity, affirmative action employer. Minority candidates and women are especially encouraged to apply.
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After an ad has been approved, the search committee is formed. The Provost, in consultation with the Committee on Appointments, appoints all members of search committees. In searches for departmental positions, typically all ranked and continuing non-tenure track members of a department are part of a search committee. Larger departments may wish to ask three or four of their members to serve on the search committee. In addition to the members of the department, a member of the Committee on Appointments, a Haverford faculty member (usually from the counterpart department), and one or more Bryn Mawr faculty members from an allied department or departments are asked to serve. Click for further information about the search committee.
The search chair is responsible for maintaining application files and organizing their review by committee members. The Committee on Appointments' representative on the search committee can provide advice about organizing the process of review.
Search chairs should be in touch with the Provost as they make plans to have committee members travel to professional meetings for the purpose of interviewing candidates. This is an important part of search activities in most fields. Typically the travel expenses of no more than three members of a department will be supported by the Provost's Office. Additional faculty members might find support from the Faculty Travel Fund, if they are presenting papers at the meeting.
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APPROVAL OF CAMPUS VISITS AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CANDIDATES
A search committee may invite up to three candidates to campus for interviews. Before inviting candidates for campus visits, the search chair should bring the following to the Provost for review and approval:
Candidates may be invited to the campus only after the search committee has had approval from the Provost. As soon as the candidates are invited to the campus for interviews, the search committee chair should send the candidates' names and the proposed dates of travel to the Provost's Office and to the deans (see below). Arrangements for the visits are made by the search committee in coordination with the Provost's Office.
Travel arrangements should be made as far in advance as possible in order to get the best fares. Reimbursement for travel is for economy airfare or unreserved coach rail fare. If a candidate is combining the visit to Bryn Mawr with other travel, personal or professional, the candidate should pay the extra fare and submit receipts for reimbursement of Bryn Mawr's share to the search committee chair, who will forward it to the Provost's Office.THE CAMPUS VISIT
During the campus visit, the candidate should meet all members of the search committee. It is general practice for candidates to have some time alone with the Committee on Appointments' representative on the search committee and to meet the Provost, the appropriate Deans, and the Faculty Diversity Liaison. All Arts and Sciences candidates meet with the Undergraduate Dean. Candidates for positions in Arts and Sciences departments with graduate programs also meet with the Graduate Dean. Copies of the candidate's curriculum vitae, letter of application, letters of recommendation, and a schedule of the candidate's visit should be sent to these administrators prior to the visit.
The Provost will discuss with the candidate faculty research support programs and practices, the salary range, and College benefits.
The chair of the search committee should be sure that candidates have clear and complete information about what is expected of them during the campus visit. The chair will want to invite colleagues from other departments to hear a candidate's talk. It is also desirable to list such talks on the Campus Events Calendar to attract a wider range of interested colleagues and students.
CAMPUS VISIT COSTS
The College will reimburse for reasonable entertainment costs and not more than $500 per candidate visit. That $500 includes the candidate's lodging and meals, and any meals and snacks involving members of the search committee, department, and students. To keep costs under control, lunch meetings with candidates should take place on campus and involve small groups. Students may take the candidate to one of the dining halls. Meal tickets for dining with students may be obtained from the Provost's Office (care of Barbara Burns). Dinners in restaurants with candidates should be limited to small groups and to $30-$40 per person. Requests for reimbursement for dinner should include the names of those who attended the dinner. If a chair has any questions about policies regarding on-campus visits, the payments of bills, and the reimbursement of expenses, she or he should call Barbara Burns (5055) or write to her. N.B. When reservations are made for accommodations, be sure the candidate's name, the hotel name, and date(s) of stay are forwarded to Barbara Burns.
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MAKING AN OFFER
When a search committee makes a final decision on a candidate, and all campus visits are complete, the search chair should forward to the Provost the committee's ranking of its candidates and the EEOC form. The Provost takes the committee's recommendation to the President and the Committee on Appointments for their approval. Any and all negotiations take place between the candidate and the Provost. During that crucial period, it is appropriate for the search chair to contact the candidate in the interests of recruitment and to discuss curriculum, but further conversations about other aspects of the appointment (including salary ranges, initial research grants, teaching commitments, moving expenses, spousal expectations, or sabbatical programs) could be counterproductive. Following telephone conversation(s) with the candidate, the Provost writes a letter offering the candidate the position and specifying the terms of the appointment. After the candidate returns a signed copy of the offer letter, the President sends a letter of appointment.
EEOC PROCEDURES
Early in the process, the search committee should meet with the faculty diversity liaison, to discuss strategies for effective minority recruitment and issues of multiculturalism. Specific recruitment plans should be developed at the outset of the search and checked as the search progresses. The Committee on Appointments representative has special responsibility for communicating institutional policy and monitoring the search committee's efforts in these areas.
The linked Word document, Equal Opportunity AA/MF Compliance for the Recruitment of New Faculty, should be used during various stages of the search. The form is divided into sections which correspond to the steps in the search procedure. The appropriate section of the form should be submitted, as indicated in the instructions on the form, at each stage in the process. The College keeps a file of EEOC forms from all searches.
The Committee on Appointments, having reviewed the procedure for gathering statistics on gender, racial, and ethnic groups search pools, has requested that letters to candidates acknowledging receipt of their applications include the following statements:
Bryn Mawr College is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action employer. We consider diversity of racial and ethnic background to be important in the makeup of our faculty, as is the representation of women scholars. In order to keep track of the diversity represented by applicants in the search, we request that you fill out and return the enclosed postcard. The postcard is designed to protect your anonymity. If, however, you do not mind our having information on your racial or ethnic background, we request that you sign your name on the postcard. Your response is entirely voluntary.
Return postcards, available from Barbara Burns, should be enclosed with the committee's letters to applicants. The cards request the following information:
- Department in which the candidate is seeking a position
- Gender
- Racial/ethnic group membership
- The name(s)of the organization, publication or other source from which the individual learned of the position
These postcards are pre-addressed to the Office of the Provost. For the purpose of compiling EEOC information for the search committee's report on compliance, the search chair or scretary may obtain postcards from Barbara Burns. When the report is complete, the postcards should be returned to Barbara Burns.
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Revised in concert with the Committee on Appointments, Novermber 2005 and August 2007.