Hope College | Faculty Handbook

Faculty Personnel Policies

B1: Procedures to be Followed in the Recruitment of Persons to the Hope College Faculty

b. Procedures

The Search Process

After authorization has been given by the Provost to fill a faculty position, the dean will meet with the department to review the appointment criteria and the procedures and time schedule to be followed in filling the position. Any special circumstances that warrant departures from established procedures should be identified and agreed upon at this time.

The chairperson and dean are responsible for conducting a nationwide search to locate the best candidate for a vacancy and for ensuring that special attention has been given to actively seeking and encouraging women and members of minority groups to apply for the position. Such a search should normally include:
1. Contacting appropriate persons in graduate schools for the names of prominent candidates;
2. Placing advertisements in appropriate disciplinary publications, placement bulletins of professional societies, etc. - this is to be coordinated with the Provost's Office.
3. Contacting university placement bureaus, other placement bureaus such as the Cooperative College Registry, and the registries of professional societies, including those oriented to the Christian faith.
4. Contacting equal opportunity recruitment sources (e.g. Women's Caucus of AAHE, American Association of University Women, Office of Women in Higher Education of ACE, National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, the United Negro College Fund, and the Association of Black Women in Higher Education);
5. Seeking personal recommendations from professionally-knowledgeable sources; and
6. Screening interviews at professional meetings, etc.
Advertisements must normally contain either of the following statements:

"Hope College is a Christian co-educational, residential liberal arts college affiliated with the Reformed Church in America."

Or

"Hope College is a co-educational, residential liberal arts college with approximately [current enrollment] students, and is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. Candidates should demonstrate an ability to combine teaching excellence with scholarly or other appropriate professional activity and should be committed to the character and goals of a liberal arts college with a Christian perspective.

All advertisements must also contain the following statement:

" Hope College places a high priority on sustaining a supportive environment that recognizes the importance of having a diverse faculty and staff in order to best prepare our students for successful careers in our multi-cultural nation and global community. Applications from persons with diverse backgrounds and cultures, including women and persons of color are, therefore, welcomed. Hope College complies with federal and state requirements for nondiscrimination in employment."

All position descriptions and advertisements shall be approved by the Provost and the Dean.

It is recognized that the procedures available to gather information on candidates vary from one discipline to another. Whatever the specific procedures used, it is essential that the initial evaluation (as well as subsequent evaluations) be based on comparable information on each applicant or nominee. Normally, a preliminary file would consist of:

A complete résumé (curriculum vitae);

Official transcripts of undergraduate and graduate work;

A description of proposed activities for professional development, such as research plans or plans for creative or performance activities.

As this information is received, the department will decide if an applicant or nominee appears to be a viable candidate. The persons so identified will be given or sent appropriate materials describing the College and its programs, the job description, and a statement on the purpose of the College, including its academic and religious character. They will be invited to indicate in writing how they visualize themselves fulfilling this position and contributing to the mission of the College. In addition, candidates should indicate how they can contribute to the College’s commitment to expanding cultural diversity within the academic program and campus as a whole. At this point, the department will normally contact candidates and/or their references and seek to obtain evidence on the candidates' teaching ability and scholarly or artistic ability. For the former, student evaluations of teaching, peer evaluations, and/or the review of a videotape of a class or seminar would constitute the ideal evidence. For the latter, publications, a portfolio of slides or photographs of creative works, and the evaluation of a mentor or other personal references will be sought. The chairperson has the responsibility to collect all information available and create a file on each candidate.

The next step is to decide which of these candidates will be invited to the campus for an interview. It is particularly important at this point for the department, the department chairperson, and the dean to work cooperatively together. The department has the responsibility to review the files again and to identify those that seem to be fully qualified. Every effort will be made to include women and members of minority groups among the top candidates. The dean will review the top candidates with the search committee chair and together they will decide which candidates will be interviewed by telephone to obtain further information on the candidate's academic qualifications, commitment to the liberal arts, ability to contribute to the purpose of the College, and perspective on the Christian faith. Every effort will be made to handle such conversations with sensitivity and discretion and with recognition of the diversity of ways people express the spiritual dimension of their lives. The department at this point may again wish to gain further information on these candidates through appropriate contacts and channels.

With this additional information in hand, the department and the dean will decide which candidates should be invited to the campus for an interview. It is important for all concerned that this decision should be made only after assessing each candidate in terms of all the qualities being sought. Every effort will be made to come to unanimous agreement on which candidates shall be invited, but the dean has the final authority. If reservations persist about any candidate to be invited to the campus, it is imperative that agreement be reached on how these issues will be addressed and evaluated during the interview. Once it has been decided which candidates will be brought to campus, the dean (or his/her designate) will extend the appropriate invitations.