Joint Searches

The Dean’s Office recognizes that joint searches can be more expensive: a need for increased advertising, for example, or higher attendance at meals to accommodate faculty in more than one unit. Additional funding to support search expenses is available from A&S when needed, though we appreciate your making every effort to stay within the allocated amount.

Search authorization for TTE joint appointment to program with department to be decided

Option A: Later involvement of departments

1. The program may reach out to potential partner departments in advance of posting the position to alert them to the fact that there may be candidates who would be a good fit for them. It is also possible that in the course of these conversations, the program will identify a department with which it wishes to collaborate from the outset. In that case, the program should let the Dean’s Office know that they have already decided on the department and follow the procedures outlined below in this document.
2. The program posts the joint position noting in the ad that the department is to be decided depending on the expertise of the candidate.
3. If it has not already done so (see #1), the program reaches out to potential partner departments before starting to review candidates to alert them to the possibility of a joint hire, and reaches out again when the list for first round interviews has been drawn up Chairs should share CVs of candidates with department faculty (confidentially) to solicit any comments in advance of the first round interviews.
4. The program conducts the first round of interviews and arrives at a list of candidates to bring to campus.
5. Based on that list, the program reaches out again to departments to invite their comments on the relevant candidate(s). The department should consider whether or not they have a need for the candidate’s specific expertise (for example, what courses could they teach?) and whether or not the candidate’s record of teaching and scholarship meets expectations for a departmental candidate at the authorized rank. Departments should be aware that candidates for positions in interdisciplinary programs may have interdisciplinary degrees and research interests that are not precisely aligned with standard expectations for departmental candidates, but who might nonetheless be excellent contributors to departmental curricula and research productivity. Where a candidate is acceptable to the department, the department will write up a brief memo for the program detailing the contributions the candidate could make to the department. Departments should also note where a candidate is not acceptable and explain why.
6. When considering future search requests from the department, the Dean’s Office will bear in mind that joint hires initiated by a program do not represent a full-time equivalent hire for the department, nor did they necessarily align with departmental priorities.
7. If the program wishes to bring to campus a candidate who is unacceptable to the department, the department and program will meet and attempt to resolve the disagreement. If that is impossible, the program will remove the candidate’s name from the list of finalists.
8. Partner departments for joint hires will participate fully in the campus visits of the relevant candidate(s).
9. After all campus visits have concluded, the department and program will follow their separate internal selection procedures. When they are concluded, the department will share a brief memo with the program describing what they have determined are the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.
10. The Program Director and search committee will meet with the Chairs of the departments that participated in the campus visits to discuss the memo and the outcome of the selection process.
11. Informed by the memos and conversations with the department(s), the program will make the final determination on the recommended order in which offers are to be made. If the program wishes to make an offer to a candidate who is unacceptable to the relevant department, faculty from both units will meet and attempt to arrive at a consensus.

Option B: Earlier involvement of departments

1. When a program-based search is authorized, the program identifies departments that will be likely partners in the joint hire and a representative from each of those departments is added to the search committee. Ideally, those representatives are already jointly appointed or affiliated with the program.
2. When considering future search requests from the department, the Dean’s Office will bear in mind that joint hires initiated by a program do not represent a full-time equivalent hire for the department, nor did they necessarily align with departmental priorities.
3. The search is conducted as usual with the search committee creating both the initial interview list and the list of finalists to be invited to campus. Departmental members of the committee may consult their departments for approval of the list (see #5 above).
4. The partner department for a joint hire will participate fully in the campus visits of the relevant candidate(s).
5. After all campus visits have concluded, the department and program will follow their separate internal procedures to select a finalist.
6. The department will share a brief memo with the program describing what they have determined are the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.
7. The Program Director and search committee will meet with the Chairs of the departments that participated in the campus visits to discuss the memos and the outcome of the selection process.
8. Informed by the memos and conversations with the department(s), the program will make the final determination on the recommended order in which offers are to be made. If the program wishes to make an offer to a candidate who is unacceptable to the relevant department, faculty from both units will meet and attempt to arrive at a consensus.
9. The Program Director and search committee will meet with the Chair of the department to discuss the outcome of the selection process. Where the selections differ between the units, faculty from both units will meet and attempt to arrive at a consensus.

Search authorization for a TTE joint appointment where the department/program combination is determined in advance

1. The search committee should be composed of an equal number of members from both units, with at least two from each. The search committee should agree on the search plan at the outset, comparing in particular post-campus interview procedures and working out if needed a compromise where those procedures diverge (see step 3).
2. The search is conducted as usual with the search committee creating the long-list and the campus interview list, and then both the department and the program participating fully in campus visit of candidate for their department.
3. Following the campus visits, the search committee will write a brief report on each candidate that specifies the ways in which each candidate fulfils or not the curricular and research focus needs of each unit. They will also confirm whether the candidate’s record of teaching and scholarship meets expectations for a departmental candidate at the authorized rank. The report will be shared with both units. Alternatively, if one or both of the units prefer, instead of writing a report, the search committee could meet with both units separately to present their ideas and the feedback from faculty and students in each unit to the candidates and answer questions from both faculties.
4. After all campus visits have concluded, the department and program will follow their separate internal procedures to select a finalist. Where the selections differ between the units, faculty from both units will meet and attempt to arrive at a consensus.