University of Louisville School of Medicine
Faculty Search Policy
“The
University of Louisville strives to foster and sustain an environment
of inclusiveness that empowers us all to achieve our highest potential
without fear of prejudice or bias. We commit ourselves to building an
exemplary educational community that offers a nurturing and
challenging intellectual climate, a respect for the spectrum of human
diversity, and a genuine understanding of the many differencesincluding race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, national origin,
sexual orientation, disability, and religion-that enrich a vibrant
metropolitan research university.
We expect every member of our academic family to embrace the
underlying values of this vision and to demonstrate a strong
commitment to attracting, retaining, and supporting students, faculty,
and staff who reflect the diversity of our larger society.”
U of L Diversity Vision Statement
1|Page
Contents:
Initiation of School of Medicine Faculty Search Process ------------------------------------Page 2
Search Committee Structure-----------------------------------------------------------------------Page 2
Search Committee Charge--------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 3
Training for Search Committees-------------------------------------------------------------------Page 3
Confidentiality of the Search Process------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Conflicts of Interest-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Advertisement of Faculty Positions---------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Use of Consensus Program-------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Conclusion of the Search Process-----------------------------------------------------------------Page 4
Recordkeeping Beyond the Search----------------------------------------------------------------Page 5
Identification of Known Candidates---------------------------------------------------------------Page 5
Recruitment Process----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5
Request for Waiver of Search-----------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5
Posting of Faculty Positions on the Uof L Human Resources Jobs Page------------------Page 6
Figure 1: Search Committee Data Collection Instrument ------------------------------------Page 7
Search Initiation Checklist Form--------------------------------------------------------------------Page 8
Instructions for completing narrative summary and data collection tools---------------Page 9
2|Page
University of Louisville School of Medicine Faculty Search Process
Initiation of School of Medicine Faculty Search Process
To initiate a faculty search process in the School of Medicine, all departments are asked to
conduct the search process in accordance with the procedures outlined below following best
practices to conduct an effective faculty search.
The department chair or designee notifies the Office of Faculty Affairs upon initiation of a
faculty search. The notification can be submitted electronically and should contain the
following information:






Rank (can be specified or open to rank)
Draft copy of advertisement
List of institutions and publications in which the advertisement will appear
List of proposed search committee members, including their faculty rank & department
Copy of outreach plans to increase pool size and diversity of applicants (Departments
may contact the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion for suggestions on outreach)
List of any identified known candidates
Search Committee Structure
A diverse search committee helps to encourage a diverse candidate pool. We encourage
department chairs to appoint committee members who reflect and embrace the diversity of
human differences, perspectives and expertise as articulated in the University of Louisville
vision for diversity. Department chairs are encouraged to appoint committee members with
different backgrounds, perspectives and expertise and with demonstrated commitment to
diversity.
The search committee will designate one member of the search committee to be function as
diversity officer. The role of the diversity officer is to monitor the procedures of the search
process, including records of the diversity of the total applicant pool and of the group selected
for interviews. The diversity officer designee is responsible for completing Figure 1 that
monitors the data needed to be completed at the end of the search. The Associate Dean for
Diversity and Inclusion and the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs are available to provide brief
instructions to the diversity officer and/or chair to enable completion of the necessary
documentation with resources and support to help ensure that the University of Louisville
School of Medicine carries out its vision and mission related to diversity.
Search Committee Charge
Upon receiving written notification to conduct the search, the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
and the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion will meet with each search committee at
3|Page
their initial meeting. At this meeting the committee will be given their charge to conduct a
national search for candidates. In the School of Medicine, our collective goal is to recruit the
best possible candidates through search processes that:
 are conducted with integrity and transparency;
 are thorough, comprehensive, and national;
 use the resources available to ensure and produce a diverse candidate pool;
 move expeditiously and systematically;
 respect confidentiality;
 provide candidates with appropriate access to information about the department,
School, University and community;
 leave all involved with a sense of fairness;
 provide the requisite information and administrative flexibility to enable a final decision
by the department and a smooth appointment process;
 result in the recruitment of an outstanding candidate who will not only meet criteria for
the rank and line but will enrich the Louisville community and bring distinction to the
School and University.
Training for Search Committees
Each search committee will receive a copy of the document, “University of Louisville Search
Manual: Achieving Excellence: A Guide for Search Committees at the University of Louisville.”
This document has been prepared by the Assistant Vice President for Health Affairs/Diversity,
Dr. Faye Jones. The guide was developed to provide search committees with an in-depth
understanding of the search process and contains specific strategies for recruiting an excellent
and diverse pool of applicants. Each search committee member should familiarize themselves
with the document.
Confidentiality of the Search Process
In order to keep the process as focused and self-contained as practicable, specifics of the search
process should not be discussed with anyone outside the search committee with the exception
of the department chair or his or her designee. This policy ensures that the candidacy of each
person is treated with utmost confidentiality. It also provides an opportunity for those making
the selection to have the freedom to discuss the candidates during committee meetings
without fear that their comments will be shared outside the deliberations.
Conflicts of Interest
Search committee members should take appropriate steps to avoid conflicts of interest or the
appearance of a conflict of interest. For example, in cases where a known candidate, either
external or internal, is likely to emerge as the candidate of choice, anyone who has served as a
mentor or a collaborator of the candidate should recuse himself or herself from the search and
selection process. In some cases, conflicts of interest might emerge only at a later stage of the
search. Should this occur, the search committee member with the conflict should recuse
himself or herself. Whether a conflict exists making recusal appropriate is often a fact-specific
4|Page
question requiring case-by-case evaluation. Faculty members with questions should contact
their chair or the Office of Faculty Affairs.
Advertisements of Faculty Positions
All positions to be filled in the professoriate must be advertised in at least one issue of at least
one national journal. It is at the department's discretion whether to place ads in print or online
venues. Departments are encouraged to also advertise in journals targeted to women and
underrepresented minority candidates; this indicates awareness about diversity and may
identify promising applicants. A list of such journals is available through the Office of Diversity
and Inclusion.
Use of the Consensus Program
Searches should be conducted with use of the Consensus applicant tracking and search support
software program hosted by the Office of Human Resources. This program allows tracking of
the applicant pool and can provide the data needed by the diversity officer for preparation of
the final report (Figure 1).
Conclusion of Search Process
After the search has concluded and a candidate has been identified, the department must
submit for review to the Office of Faculty Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, a
brief narrative description of the history of the search process, preferably authored by the chair
of the search committee. The narrative report should provide a clear and full explanation of the
search process so that an outside reviewer with no prior knowledge of the search can easily
understand what transpired. It is important to keep careful records during the search process,
including the dates of meetings, copies of advertisements, solicitation letters, interviews and
decisions.
Regulations implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor requires all federal contractors
annually to collect and analyze data regarding the gender, race and ethnic background of
applicants for employment. The report assembled at the conclusion of the search process must
include summary data on the gender, race and ethnicity of the applicant pool.
Record Keeping Beyond the Search
In accordance with University policy, departments must retain complete records of each search,
including vitae of applicants, for at least three years. Such records should include copies of
advertisements and solicitations for nominations; applicant and nominee correspondence;
records of committee meetings; evaluations of candidates at each step of the process;
information associated with the interview process; the committee's ranking of the definitive
pool; and other information, as appropriate.
Identification of Known Candidates
If an internal or external candidate is known to the department as a likely top choice for a
search, the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs must be informed of this information as part of
the search initiation process.
5|Page
Recruitment Process
Search committees and/or departments are strongly encouraged to provide interview
candidates with a packet of materials containing specific information on the department,
School, University and the Louisville community. Such materials might include departmental
faculty profiles, academic planning documents, school of medicine strategic plan, etc. These
items should expand the candidate’s knowledge of the department and School of Medicine.
Request for Waiver of Search
Sometimes a waiver of search may be granted when an exceptionally distinguished person is
unexpectedly available, or an excellent candidate arises who would diversify the faculty.
Additional reasons for requests for waivers include the requirement for specialized skills or to
fill an immediate need due to a work stoppage. The University of Louisville’s policy regarding
waivers of the search process is noted on the waiver request form and found at the following
web address. http://louisville.edu/hr/itemsofinterest/searchwaiverdocument.pdf
If a School of Medicine department is planning to submit a waiver of the search process, the
department chair must submit the waiver request form electronically to the Office of the Dean
where is forwarded to both the finance office and the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, who
along with the Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, review the request. If approved it is
forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for final approval. A copy of current curriculum
vitae of the candidate must be submitted along with the other requested documentation. In
general it should be noted that the requests for search waiver are granted only in exceptional
circumstances and in situations with compelling programmatic needs.
Posting of Faculty Position on the University of Louisville Human Resources Jobs Page
All faculty vacancies should be posted to the University of Louisville Human Resources Jobs
Page. Applicants should follow the procedures outlined in the job announcement and attach
only their CV to the application and submit other documents as required to the search
committee chair. The University of Louisville Office of Human Resources can then submit an
EEOC addendum for applicants to submit and indicate their racial/ethnic background. This step
alleviates the search committee from having to guess or try to determine how applicants
identify themselves.
*This document is adapted in part from the Stanford School of Medicine Faculty Guide to Faculty with their permission.
6|Page
Figure 1: SEARCH COMMITTEE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT
As Diversity Chair of the Search Committee you must the complete the following table with the
number of offers made to faculty along with the number of offers that were made but were
declined.
Number of Offers
Made
Number of Offers
Declined
Total Number of
Offers
Male Applicants
Female Applicants
African American Male
Applicants
African American Female
Applicants
Hispanic/Latino- Male
Applicants
Hispanic/Latina –Female
Applicants
7|Page
SEARCH INITIATION REQUEST PACKAGE CHECKLIST
Department/Division
Date Submitted
Specifies faculty rank
Proposed Search Committee:




Names, faculty ranks and departments
Indicate Chair of Search Committee
Explain inclusion of any faculty below the rank being searched for
Exclude any mentors/collaborators of known candidates
Letter Soliciting Applicants
 Letter soliciting candidates for the search is included, and was drafted according to
template provided.
Advertisement
 Advertisement is included and was drafted in accordance with the template provided,
and defines the position broadly and does not target a specific individual.
8|Page
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE NARRATIVE SUMMARY AND DATA COLLECTION TOOLS
OF THE SEARCH PROCESS
In preparing the narrative summary of the search process: Please include the following:
 Include the dates of significant meetings of the search committee
 Include the dates of advertisements and names of the journals in which they appeared
 Include dates that solicitation letters were mailed and to whom. For example, “On
[date], letters were sent to Chairs of [number] of departments of [specialty] throughout
the U.S.”
 Describe the efforts to identify qualified racial and ethnic minorities and female
candidates (for example, advertisement in publications of underrepresented minority or
female professional or academic organizations, or letters sent to leaders at schools with
large numbers of underrepresented minority students)
 Include the date of establishment of the definitive pool (i.e., the people you interviewed
or invited for an interview).
 Describe any unusual events- a description of the major events of the search in
chronological order would be sufficient
 Include a list of each known racial or ethnic minority or female candidates NOT included
in the final pool. Give a brief justification for each. For example, “John Doe, a [ethnicity]
males, was not included in the final definitive pool because he has not established a
research focus or published articles in peer-reviewed journals” or “Jane Doe, a[ethnicity]
female, was not include in the final definitive pool because she lacks board eligibility in
_______, a requirement for the position.”
 The search committee should know the racial/ethnic identity and/or gender of someone
if you have met them in person and are reasonably certain, or if they volunteer this
information as part of their application, or if this information is readily apparent from
contextual information in the application. Do not solicit this information from
applicants and do not guess.
 Attach the Search Committee Data Collection Instrument – check numbers to be sure
they reconcile
 Include a photocopy of a published journal page with your advertisement. Indicate the
title and date of the journal
 Attach the CV of the top candidate and ensure that the CV is up-to-date.
9|Page
Please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs in case of questions or to discuss search process
requirements.
10 | P a g e