The Search Committee
Search Committee Mandated
As defined by University of Colorado Regental Policy:
1. The use of search committees is mandated only when vacancies occur in the Office of the President, Vice Presidents, Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, or Deans of the Colleges and Schools of the University.
2. In addition, all hiring for permanent faculty, permanent professional exempt positions, and all research faculty positions requires a search procedure.
3. It is campus policy to utilize search committees for these vacancies. Flexibility is provided to hiring authorities in the determination of the recruitment plan. In addition, an internal promotion procedure has been developed to insure the development and promotion of University employees to administrative vacancies.
4. An institutional search procedure is recommended for visiting professorships or "acting" appointments that are to be six months or longer in duration.
Search Committee Composition
1. The University of Colorado Board of Regents has approved the following ratio of three faculty, one staff member, one student and one alumnus for chancellor search committees, with the addition of an administrator, appointed by the University President, who serves as an ex-officio member.
2. The guidelines also recognize the knowledge and judgment of peers in the search and selection processes for deans. In the case of a school or college, this requires that each of the various major interests or disciplinary divisions within the school or college be represented by faculty members on the committee. For faculty vacancies, the existing discipline, department or division faculty assume the function of a search committee.
3. For other positions, the key is to select people who represent varied constituencies and appropriate expertise. Regental policy requires that search committees will have both women and minority representation. In some cases it may be necessary to go beyond the academic/administrative department to identify these individuals. Excellent committee members are available within the ranks of our lecturers and other part-time faculty, upper-level and graduate students, as well as, representatives of business, industry or other higher education institutions within the community.
4. The Compliance Officer sits on all UCCS faculty and administrative search committees as an ex-officio member.
Forming the Search Committee
Choosing the Chairperson
The search committee chair plays a significant a role in the search process. The chair sets the tone and pace of committee work, is spokesperson for the committee and is the campus contact for the candidates. The chair is also responsible for delivering final recommendations to the hiring authority.
The chair’s work commitment will be considerable - two or three times that of other committee members. Thus, the chair must have provisions made in advance for ample time to devote to service on this committee.
The qualities one wants in the search committee chair are those sought for all committee members: good judgment, good communication skills, the ability to motivate and keep a group on track, dispatch with paperwork, skill in conflict situations, and talent in institutional advocacy. (See Sample Letter 1.)
Role of the Search Committee Chairperson
1. Convenes and chairs search committee meetings
2. Receives completed applications from clerical support staff and provides receipt for applications to the contact person.
3. Oversees distribution of application materials to search committee members.
4. Informs clerical support staff when applicants have been eliminated from the search at each step.
5. Assigns telephone calls to references to search committee members.
6. Arranges conference calls between search committee members and candidates.
7. Together with the clerical support staff, arranges travel and accommodations for the interviews.
8. Schedules visits and interviews with the help of the clerical support staff.
9. Distributes and collects all evaluation and observation forms to all parties involved in interview procedures.
10. Convenes search committee meeting to identify candidates to be recommended.
11. Advises supervisor of the persons being recommended for position by search committee.
12. Maintains minutes of all meetings of the search committee.
13. Returns applicant files to clerical support staff.
14. Monitors all activities of search committee.
Choosing the Search Committee
In choosing a search committee, the appointing authority seeks an able group of representative individuals who can work together to accomplish an institutional task.
The first thing an institution needs in all committee members is the quality that justifies a committee in the first place: good judgment. The best search committee members will be savvy about people; they are discerners of talent who know and insist upon high quality work. An institution needs committee members of personal integrity and independence of view, people devoted to the institution even if they are sometimes critical of it. Each should be willing and free enough to assume the committee assignment. As a group, the committee should have a status commensurate with the position at stake, a stature that warrants the respect and confidence of relevant constituencies (a search for a vice chancellor, then, should have at least two or more senior professors among its members).
The second thing is that the committee composition should reflect as much as possible the interest various constituencies have in the outcome. Faculty members, of course, are the chief stakeholders in academic appointments; they undoubtedly should comprise a majority of any committee charged with finding a dean, VCAA, etc. For various posts, other administrators, students, and staff will have a stake that warrants committee membership.
a. The appointing authority determines the size and composition of the search committee and appoints the members of the search committee. Most search committees name 3-5 members. All search committees must have at least one woman and at least one ethnic minority member, who may not be the same person. The appointing authority is encouraged to consult with the Compliance Office regarding committee member appointments.
b. Faculty Assembly, Staff Council and PESA (Professional Exempt Staff Association) leadership may be consulted regarding representation on the search committee. Faculty Assembly, Staff Council, and PESA may be asked to provide a list of faculty and staff nominees from which the appointing authority will choose those to serve on the committee.
c. If the appointing authority decides that students should be represented on the search committee, the appointing authority may ask Student Government to provide the necessary representative to serve on the committee.
