ADVANCE Office Recruitment Initiative Recognized
The UNC Charlotte ADVANCE Office has staked its claim to national recognition for its faculty recruitment training initiative. The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences recently selected the program as one of six diversity recruitment resources recommended as a model for other institutions.
The ADVANCE Office, working in collaboration with the Council on University Community, Office of Academic Budget and Personnel, Human Resources Department and the Office of Legal Affairs, developed the training, which is designed to help faculty search committees to share best practices and take into consideration diversity strategies with regard to the recruitment of underrepresented groups for faculty positions and leadership positions across campus.
“Our program takes a two-pronged approach. There is an online component in conjunction with a face-to-face session,” said Yvette Huet, faculty director of the ADVANCE Office. “Participants can access the online component at their convenience to learn about policies and best practices around faculty recruitment. They still have the opportunity to discuss with others at UNC Charlotte what has worked well and what hasn’t in a face-to-face session. The sharing of ideas has been one of the strengths of our program, because it serves to make the underlying research more pertinent and real for participants.”
The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), founded in 1965, is a national association of baccalaureate degree-granting colleges of arts and sciences whose purpose is to sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education. The council serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among deans of arts and sciences representing the member colleges and as a representative of the liberal arts and sciences at a national policy-making level. The council received a grant from the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE Program to seek ways to raise awareness about unintended bias and gender equity. The effort supports the development of systematic approaches to increase representation and advancement of women faculty members in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“We are honored that our program is among those recommended as a model. Our initiative is an evolving one that utilizes best practices and undergoes regular evaluation and refinement,” Huet stated. “Our website also includes a number of useful resources and links beneficial for faculty members at UNC Charlotte as well as others outside our institution.”
More information about the ADVANCE faculty recruitment initiative is on the Web athttp://advance.charlotte.edu/programming/faculty-recruitment-training.