The Evergreen curricular program demands motivation and a range of competencies not always required of faculty in colleges and universities whose offerings are organized around departments. Some of the characteristics which we seek in prospective faculty members are:
- Previous experience or clearly expressed desire to participate in collaborative, interdisciplinary teaching;
- A willingness to work as a member of a coordinated studies team;
- Demonstrated expertise in one or more fields of study and a willingness to participate with students in learning new fields (a Ph.D. is not in itself a requirement for hiring or retention);
- A willingness to teach and learn through the exploratory, cooperative seminar mode;
- A willingness to work with students in tutorials and individual contracts;
- A willingness to act as an academic advisor;
- A willingness to participate in TESC governance activities, including DTFs.
The goals of the recruitment and appointment procedure for faculty are 1) to develop pools of applicants sufficiently diverse to enhance our ability to attain our diversity and affirmative action objectives, 2) to attract candidates who possess the characteristics above, 3) to involve the Evergreen community as much as possible in the planning for and selection of candidates, 4) and to keep applicants, the affirmative action officer and the campus community aware of the stages within the hiring procedure. Insofar as possible, all candidates for full-time faculty appointments shall go through the procedure detailed below. Initial appointments will also be consistent with the applicable parts of the faculty reappointment policy (Section 4.300).
Recruitment of regular faculty
Stage I. Identification of recruiting areas
At least 18 months before the beginning of new faculty members’ contracts in the fall, the Long Term Hiring Priorities DTF, in consultation with the faculty in the various planning units, will identify tentative priority needs (academic areas) in faculty recruitment. The academic deans and provost will make these hiring priorities available for comment from faculty, students and staff, before determining final priorities. The medium for faculty discussion of these priorities and decisions will include the faculty meeting. The hiring dean will then consult with the faculty associated with each academic area and the affirmative action office to identify recruitment sources appropriate to each area and to the affirmative action policies of the institution.
Recruitment should be designed to attract a diverse pool of applicants, particularly persons of color and women. This will require targeted recruitment beyond conventional professional journals. For affirmative action purposes, the applicant pool for each position minimally should reflect the availability nationally of protected class members in the relevant academic area. The advertising and other promotional materials will include specific remarks describing the general philosophy of education at Evergreen and the areas to which an applicant needs to speak.
All regular faculty positions shall be open for a period of at least 60 days and advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education and appropriate disciplinary journals. In order to reach deeply into the pool of prospective candidates who will contribute to the college’s diversity, other recruiting sources should be used as well. Visiting faculty positions must be advertised for at least 30 days. In both cases, the advertisements must clearly describe the minimal qualifications for the positions.
In searches for both regular and visiting faculty, completed applications will be accepted and reviewed until finalists are selected. This "rolling" process provides maximum flexibility for enhancing the diversity of the applicant pools without the need to readvertise or reopen a search.
Stage II. Application and completion of file
Every effort shall be made to develop complete applicant files and to help prospective candidates understand Evergreen and our hiring needs.
Each applicant for an advertised position will be assigned a file. The hiring dean and faculty hiring coordinator will review all files for completeness. A complete file ordinarily will include a) vita, b) at least two letters of reference which address teaching ability, c) a one to two page statement of the applicant’s teaching philosophy and practice, d) a one to two page statement of the applicant’s multicultural experience or expertise, e) an example of scholarly or artistic work, and f) evaluations by students (if applicable). Additional materials may be requested if necessary.
Receipt of an application should be confirmed in writing, accompanied by a list of any items which are required to complete the file. If necessary, an additional reminder may be made later in the recruitment phase before screening of files begins.
To keep track of the applicants’ status, the files will be kept at a central location categorized by position. Incomplete files will be kept separately from complete files. The front jacket of each file will indicate the materials received from the applicant as well as correspondence sent to the applicant.
The absence of faculty rank creates a business necessity to prescribe a maximum number of years of experience for some positions. Before positions are advertised, the deans and the provost, in consultation with the faculty, decide which positions will have this threshold qualification. Applications of candidates who surpass the prescribed maximum years of experience should not be considered, and the candidates should be so informed upon receipt of their application. The explanation to candidates rejected for this reason should be candid and clear.
Stage III. Screening of files and identification of candidates
The screening of files and identification of candidates will be done by subcommittees and the Faculty Hiring DTF. The purpose of the subcommittees is to narrow the field of candidates and to recommend a shortlist of five to eight semi-finalists. The purpose of the Faculty Hiring DTF is to select finalists (ordinarily two or three) from the shortlist in consultation with the subcommittee, to interview the finalists, and to make a hiring recommendation to the academic deans, again in consultation with the subcommittee.
Fall quarter, the hiring dean will establish a subcommittee for each of the open positions. This subcommittee, composed of four or five faculty members, shall include representatives from the relevant academic area as well as other areas of the curriculum, and a member of the Faculty Hiring DTF. The subcommittee should be constituted to avoid any conflicts of interest. Students and/or staff from the relevant area may serve on the subcommittee.
The Faculty Hiring DTF will be composed of ten regular faculty members, three students and three staff members. Each member will hold a two-year overlapping term (half the members of each group are new each year). In each case (faculty, student, staff), the DTF should include a wide array of disciplines and areas of specialization, representation of men and women, and representation of people of color. The Faculty Hiring DTF will be "current" until new membership is appointed the next fall.
In emergency situations or at times when a full committee cannot be brought together (e.g., summer), the deans and provost will consult with as many members as can be reached. All appointments not receiving full DTF review will be made for not more than one year in duration.
The subcommittees will read the completed applicant files and evaluate each applicant in light of the stated criteria, with the goal of identifying a shortlist of five to eight candidates. The Faculty Hiring DTF members will read the files of the shortlisted candidates and, in consultation with the relevant subcommittee, will select two or three finalists. It is extremely important for the subcommittees and the Faculty Hiring DTF to document clearly how they narrowed the field of candidates and selected the semi-finalists and finalists. This documentation must be sufficient to inform anyone about:
- How the total number of applicants was handled,
- The number of applicants given serious consideration for the position,
- The basis for narrowing the field of candidates at each stage at which candidates were eliminated, and
- How the subcommittee and the Faculty Hiring DTF concluded that the candidate recommended for hiring was the most qualified.
This documentation should be included in written reports from the chair of the subcommittees and the chair of the Faculty Hiring DTF.
Once the Faculty Hiring DTF identifies finalists, the hiring dean and staff will invite them for a campus visit. The invitation letter will inform the candidate of scheduled activities, provide travel and logistical information, and communicate any specific interview instructions from the subcommittee and Faculty Hiring DTF. If a visitation is not possible, conference telephone calls should be used.
The cost of the candidates’ visits, including transportation and accommodations, shall be paid by the college to the extent permitted by state law, current travel policy, and availability of funds.
The hiring dean should ensure that letters of rejection to unsuccessful candidates are sent as soon as possible at whatever stage they are eliminated for serious consideration. However, finalist candidates not offered a position should be sent a rejection letter only after the successful finalist has accepted a position offer. This preserves the option of making an offer to a second or third choice candidate in the event that the first choice candidate rejects a position offer. In some cases where the search has been highly competitive and has yielded a large number of highly qualified semi-finalists, the subcommittee or hiring dean may advise that the semi-finalists not be sent rejection letters until the position is filled.
The files of unsuccessful candidates shall be retained as inactive applicant files for a period of three years following the initial application. They may be reviewed for subsequent position openings if either the hiring dean or the candidate requests it.
All applicant files, active or inactive, are confidential. Only hiring subcommittees, the Faculty Hiring DTF members, academic deans, the provost and staff designated by these may have access to them. This confidentiality is necessary not only because candidates usually apply with this understanding, but also because persons who write reference letters usually expect that these will not be widely or publicly available.
Stage IV. Interviewing and recommendation for hiring.
The Faculty Hiring Coordinator, under the supervision of the hiring dean, shall be responsible for organizing and publicizing the campus visits of finalists. These visits shall be widely publicized so that Evergreen community members who desire to meet the candidates may do so. There will be a standard time and place set aside, insofar as it is possible, for the Evergreen community to meet the candidate. The campus visit should include opportunities for the candidate to meet with:
- The Faculty Hiring DTF;
- The relevant subcommittee,
- Additional faculty, staff and students interested in meeting with the candidate,
- Staff representatives from areas of the college relevant to this person’s specialty;
- The academic deans and dean of the library;
- The provost; and
- The president.
The faculty hiring coordinator shall arrange for additional introductions and interviews in accordance with the needs and expressed desires of the candidates, deans, subcommittees, Faculty Hiring DTF and other community members.
After interviews are completed, the Faculty Hiring DTF, in consultation with the subcommittee, will make a hiring recommendation to the Academic Deans. The recommendation must describe how the DTF and subcommittee reached their conclusions.
The deans will then review the finalists’ files, consider the recommendation of the Faculty Hiring DTF, review other community members’ comments about the candidates, and make their hiring recommendation to the provost. The provost will have appointing authority subject to final approval of the president. The hiring dean will convey hiring decisions and the reasons for them to the Faculty Hiring DTF, the affirmative action officer and the community as a whole. If the provost chooses to appoint someone other than the person recommended by the DTF, he/she must provide a written explanation to the DTF.
Procedures for hiring visiting and adjunct faculty
Full-time appointments
This category includes:
- Visiting positions where a faculty member is on leave from another institution;
- Specific, short-term positions in programs;
- Situations where there is an identified position but the applicant pool is not diverse enough to hire a regular faculty member;
- Emergency hiring (e.g., during summer, or replacement during the year) where the full Faculty Hiring DTF cannot be constituted or the full screening procedure cannot be observed.
These positions should be identified and advertised as one-quarter, two-quarter, or one-year full-time appointments.
In general, the procedure for visiting teaching appointments is similar to the procedure used for hiring regular faculty, including recruitment, file completion, screening and interviewing. However, in those years when the college is hiring a large number of regular faculty members, it may not be practicable to observe the full screening procedure for visiting positions as well. In such a case, the procedure should, at the very least, include interviews by the faculty team with whom the applicant might be working and by the Academic Deans. If such an abbreviated procedure becomes necessary, it must nonetheless include recommendations to the academic deans and provost in accordance with the procedures of hiring regular faculty.
Visiting appointees wishing to apply for regular faculty status in the future must go through the hiring procedure used for a regular faculty applicant.
Adjunct appointments
These faculty are hired to teach specific part-time offerings that have been identified as not-fillable with the current regular faculty. It is accepted that these positions require persons with specific areas of competence and may arise at almost any time. Compared to regular and visiting appointments, these positions might be filled with less advertising or screening. When it is possible to anticipate needs, the position must be advertised. If possible, the current faculty will be appraised of the potential positions and requested to submit names of individuals who might be interested or capable. Designated faculty will also read files and make recommendations for hires. If the appointee is to be part of a teaching team, the faculty of the program team must be involved in screening and selection.