Faculty Hiring Best Practices

The Faculty Hiring Best Practices mini-course supports faculty involved in recruitment and search processes by providing a distillation of best practices in faculty recruiting. The course is an expansion of an earlier resource that was hosted on these pages prior to the development of the Canvas course. Within this Canvas mini-course is a resources section that contains templates and samples that community members are encouraged to adopt or adapt for their own use.

In keeping with Strategic Plan 2025, the University’s strategic plan, this mini-course emphasizes strategies for conducting faculty searches that will enable us to reach our goals. These goals include hiring more diverse staff explicitly, as well as hiring faculty who promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, through their teaching, scholarship, leadership, and/or service.

The information and resources provided in this mini-course supplement the direct support for faculty hiring that is provided by deans and their staff, and by the Human Resources team. The HR multi-step process is outlined on the HR website at Hiring a Faculty Member.

Each summer OFE updates Montclair State University Student and Faculty Demographic Data to provide search committees with up-to-date analyses of their department, college/school, and university.

For more information on the course, review the table of contents below, and if you are interested in enrolling in the course, contact Emily Isaacs directly.

Part 1: Introduction
This section introduces the Provost’s priorities and Montclair faculty’s demographic characteristics in comparison to national faculty data and Montclair student populations.

Part 1: Overview
Montclair State’s Hiring Priorities Strategy
Montclair State’s Diversity Profile
National Context on Faculty Diversity
Equity Barriers in Standard Recruitment Practices

Part 2: Understanding Implicit Bias
This section will provide a primer on implicit bias research and its relevance and implications for hiring, making the case for many of the hiring procedures and strategies recommended in this section and the rest of the mini-course. Includes optional 30-minute “learn more” videos.

Part 2: Overview
Implicit Bias
Learning More About Implicit Bias
Mitigating Bias

Part 3: Before a Search Begins
This section is focused on soft recruiting well in advance of posting your job, proposing a line that will fit the University’s priorities, and writing an effective and inclusive job ad.

Part 3: Overview
Always Recruit
Proposing a Line
Recruitment Planning

Part 4: Running an Equity-Forward Search
This section provides best practices for conducting a search, addressing search committee formation, screening tools, interview questions, and strategies and information useful to recruitment.

Part 4: Overview
Putting Together a Successful Team
Working with HR: Legal and Ethical Responsibilities
Establish Responsibilities and Rules for the Team
Rubrics and Strategies for Evaluation
Preparing for Candidate Interactions
Ending the Search

Updated 03.23.23 EJI