Pursuing Inclusive Excellence in Faculty Hiring

You are invited to attend the "Pursuing Inclusive Excellence in Faculty Hiring" two-part virtual workshop series hosted by The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and in partnership with the Office of the Provost. Registration is required for all participants. 

Please note: This workshop is open to all those either involved in an active search this academic year or those who will be involved in a future search over the next 12-14 months. 

*Part II: Executing Tenure Track Search workshop on March 2nd is a second offering for those who were unable to attend in October 2021.

PURSUING INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE IN FACULTY HIRING 

Part I: Preparing for Tenure Track Search
Tuesday, February 15, 2022 | 12:30pm - 2:30pm

Part II: Executing the Tenure Track Search
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
(Second Offering, Priority will be given to those who attend Part I) 

Register Here >> Pursuing Inclusive Excellence in Faculty Hiring

Who Should Attend? Faculty and Staff representatives from schools and colleges, and other units, particularly those engaged in active tenure-track searches.  

Active Searches: It is highly recommended that faculty search committees hold off on reviewing any applications until after this workshop series if they have not already done so. Postponing a review of files at this juncture will be productive. Regardless of the stage of the current search, however, attendance at this workshop is recommended. 

Note: If your college or school is not conducting a search this academic year, but you anticipate doing so next academic year in 2022-2023 and beyond, we encourage you to send representatives including the chairs of the various departments in your respective units. 

Why Attend Parts I & II? It is important and highly recommended that you attend both segments of this series. Executing an inclusive search depends on productive planning and preparation; faculty searches shouldn’t be executed in isolation and careful planning is a key aspect of inclusive practice. Given our commitment to advancing inclusive academic excellence consistent with our Jesuit values and LIFT SU, there exists a critical need and opportunity to improve search protocols to consistently build a diverse faculty. 

Workshop Details: The sessions will be facilitated by Dr. Mary James of Reed College, who collaborated with us a couple of years ago on a pilot effort to inform planning and decision-making in faculty searches. These sessions were very well-received and the strategies proved productive and impactful for search committees, even those well underway. ODI has re-engaged Dr. James who facilitated sessions during Fall Quarter on conducting faculty searches, as well as executive searches. 

Part I covers the necessary preparation and institutional planning for an inclusive search, including holistic thinking about departments and their make-up, transformative ways to think about diversity while adding new faculty members, as well as, strategies for greater possibilities for attracting diverse candidates long before a job announcement is posted. 

Part II presents a framework for incorporating inclusive practices into tenure-track faculty searches including examination of the human condition of bias, its impact on decision making, and offer practical and evidence-based strategies and tools a department, program, or search committee can employ at each phase of the search process. 

LIFT SU and Strategic Directions: This effort derives from recommendations of the 2016 Task Force on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Final Report, builds on the 2020 Strategic Directions, and aligns with President Peñalver’s 2022 Reigniting Strategic Directions integrating LIFT SU into the university’s strategic goals. 

About the Facilitator: Dr. Mary James is the Dean for Institutional Diversity and the A. A. Knowlton Professor of Physics at Reed College. Her principal areas of physics research have been in accelerator physics and astrophysics. As Dean for Institutional Diversity, Professor James works across all college constituencies to design and implement practices and procedures to build a diverse faculty, staff, and student body and to create a campus climate in which community members from diverse backgrounds can work, learn, and grow in a supportive and inclusive environment. James received her B.A. in physics from Hampshire College and her Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford University. 

Thank you for your commitment to our shared agenda to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into our structures and practice, particularly those aimed at building and retaining a diverse and inclusive faculty.  

Please contact Marquinta Obomanu (mobomanu@seattle.udu) for any questions.

With gratitude, 

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Telephone: (206) 296-6263  Email: inclusion@seattleu.edu