The University is continuing its efforts to understand and overcome the obstacles of obtaining a more diverse candidate pool for faculty positions.
As a way of enhancing the processes followed by faculty search committees, Gertrude Fraser, vice provost for faculty advancement, recently organized a series of workshops at the University with diversity expert JoAnn Moody. Fraser said the motivation for these workshops came out of her work with faculty search committees.
"The question I've been asking is, 'What can we provide as resources to faculty search committees so that they can have the tools available to do as active recruitment as possible and to have procedures that provide a fairly equitable assessment of candidates?'" Fraser said.
Fraser said the workshops focused on the issues of evaluation and review processes as well as on how to recognize patterns that might include or exclude certain candidates. While Moody did not focus on identifying specific problems at the University, conversations centered on recognizing common cognitive errors in the sometimes unconscious way in which people assess candidates' applications based on characteristics that are not immediately relevant to the position or the work they are expected to do.
Fraser also said she would like to have similar workshops each year, coupled with more focused projects such as her office's recent efforts to create a centralized location for information that faculty search committees may find helpful in expanding their candidate pools.
The work done through Fraser's faculty advancement office is only one aspect of the University's attempts to increase diversity.
"We are looking to hire a diverse population, and that is in everything that we do," University spokesperson Carol Wood said. "It certainly ties in with the University's emphasis on diversity and the diversity initiatives that have been stated and are clearly underway."
Wood said several initiatives currently are in progress to increase diversity in all aspects of the University. Some of these initiatives include creating a system for incident reporting, establishing an office for recruitment of minority graduate students, creating faculty and student exchange programs with historically black universities and colleges as well as expanding and mandating equal opportunity workshops for hiring committees.
Wood also said the key project right now is hiring a chief officer of diversity and equity, who would oversee and implement change as well as work across Grounds with all the different deans and schools. Wood added that University President John T. Casteen, III and the Board of Visitors hope to have the position filled by the summer.
Wood said while Moody's workshop is not necessarily a direct result of any of these initiatives, it certainly relates to the University's ultimate goal of increasing diversity and awareness of diversity-related issues.
"It's all in the same spirit of educating and making sure that people at the University are aware and are sensitive to the issues, understand them and know how to implement change," Wood said. "It's critical that we all begin to understand the issues and the needs and how attracting a diverse population only makes us better"
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