Searches, Waivers and Offers
This page brings together all of the tools, samples and checklists needed for managing a Professoriate search.
It does not provide a detailed guide to initiating and managing a search; for that, please refer to the Guide to Faculty Searches.
On This Page
What is the Importance of a Search?
Recruiting and hiring new members of the Professoriate (faculty in the University Tenure Line, Medical Center Line, or Non-Tenure Lines) requires either:
- a broad-based national search which casts a broad net for the widest possible field of candidates
- a waiver of search, granted by the Provost, in which the Department and School request permission to pursue a particular candidate without going through the full search process.
Following a successful search or waiver, a draft offer letter is prepared for the candidate. The assembly of documents for the candidate's appointment long form typically follows.
Guide to Faculty Searches
This reference guide provides all of the information needed to successfully initiate, pursue, and finalize a faculty search. Read it first before initiating your search, and refer to it with any questions.
Initiating a Search
- Read Section VII, The Search Initiation Process, in the Guide to Faculty Searches.
- Checklist - Initiation of Search
- Use to find and assemble all of the information required to ask for permission to start searching for a Professoriate faculty member. - Flow chart
shows the approval process for a search initiation request. - Search Timeline shows the expected timeline for a national search.
- Use the Template letter seeking applicants to create the letter you will send to other institutions.
Once all of your information has been assembled, submit the initiation request package to the Office of Academic Affairs for approval by the Dean and the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. You may start search activities after you have been notified of approval by email.
Managing the Search
- Read Sections VIII - XI, Guide to Faculty Searches (Managing the Search,Reviewing Applications Interviewing Candidates, Post-Interview Deliberations and Outcome).
- Create and maintain your search information on the Faculty Applicant Self-Identification website ( explained below) which is administered by the Provost's Office.
- How to Post Faculty Vacancy Announcements
- Sample Letter of Rejection to Candidate (after initial screening)
- Sample Candidate Interview Schedule
- Sample Letter of Rejection to Candidate (after interview)
Faculty Applicant Self Identification System (FASI)
Used during the search, this website, administered by the Provost's Office, gathers data from your candidates about their gender and ethnicity, and generates the Applicant Information Grid for inclusion in the Search Report.
- Instructions
- Data Entry Template
- FASI Flow Chart
- Race/Ethnicity Definitions
- Sample Message to Applicant
- Sample Applicant Information Grid generated by FASI
The FASI website link changes each year.
- If your search started in 2011, use this link: FASI Website 2011
- If your search started in 2010: FASI Website 2010
- If your search started in 2009: FASI Website 2009
- If your search started in 2008: FASI Website 2008
Referee Letters
Referee letters may need to be solicited during the search. Assistant Professor candidates may solicit their own letters and have them sent directly to the search chair.
- Referee Grid Instructions
- detailed instructions on how to assemble a list of referees for a candidate - Example Referee Grid - sample with imaginary referees
- Template for Creating a Referee Grid - blank template to fill in with referee names
- Templates for Solicitation Letters - use the appropriate template to create the letter you will use to ask for evaluative letters from referees
Submitting the Search Report Package
When the final candidate has been chosen, assemble the search report according to these Instructions .
The search report must include the chosen candidate's curriculum vitae, including training, academic and professional history, record of grant funding (no dollar amounts included!), and bibliography with particular attention to peer-reviewed articles. Use these tools:
Assembling the Draft Offer Letter Package
This must be submitted with the search report, and it includes the draft offer letter for the chosen candidate, assembled using one of the templates listed below; the candidate's CV; and the required set of external referee letters.
- Instructions
- Flow Chart - document flow between the Department, Academic Affairs, and Faculty Compensation
Choose the offer letter template for the candidate's planned location:
- Stanford Hospital and Clinics/LPCH - all lines
- Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System - all lines
Faculty Compensation also requires the Source of Salary Support form:
