IV. Current School Demographics

VII. The Search Initiation Process

D. Search Committee

When a department receives authorization to conduct a search, the department chair should appoint a committee (or charge a standing departmental appointments and promotions committee) to carry out the search in accordance with the School procedures described in this Guidebook and with established departmental practice.

1. Membership Composition

While the structure of search committees varies among departments, normally the minimum is three faculty members with a senior faculty member serving as chair. Faculty members should normally serve as chair of only one search committee at a time. At the department's discretion, committee members may be drawn from the ranks of assistant, associate or full professors or at the same rank or above that of the position under search. Members of the search committee may be from outside the department, when appropriate.

A department may permit clinician-educators to serve on a search committee. Emeriti faculty and/or non-faculty (e.g., residents and/or fellows, medical and/or graduate students, hospital management) may also serve on a search committee as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, the committee of faculty members. A brief explanation should be provided regarding the inclusion of any non-faculty members.

A diverse search committee helps to encourage a diverse candidate pool. Department chairs are encouraged to appoint committee members with different backgrounds, perspectives and expertise and with demonstrated commitment to diversity.

Sometimes the small number, junior rank or workload of women or minority candidates in a department prevents them from serving on search committees. In such cases, departments should consider adding an individual from outside the department with relevant expertise who would add diversity to the search committee.

2. Diversity Officer

Departments are encouraged to ask one member of the committee to serve as a diversity officer. Faculty serving in this capacity are expected to monitor the procedures of the search process, the diversity of the total applicant pool and of the group selected for interviews. The diversity officer is also responsible for authoring the section of the appointment long form that describe aspects of the search related to diversity. The Office of Diversity and Leadership is available to brief the diversity officer so he or she feels competent to perform this role.

3. Approval of Committee Membership

The composition of the search committee is reviewed by the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs as well as by the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Leadership, who either approves the composition of the committee or requests that the department chair include others in order to constitute a more diverse search committee.

4. Committee Charge

In the School of Medicine, our collective goal is to recruit the best possible candidates through search processes that:

• are conducted with integrity and transparency;
• are thorough and comprehensive;
• use all resources available to ensure and produce a diverse candidate pool;
• move expeditiously and systematically;
• respect confidentiality;
• provide candidates with access to information about the department, School, University and community;
• leave all involved with a sense of fairness;
• provide the requisite information and administrative flexibility to enable a final decision by the department and a smooth appointment process;
• result in the recruitment of an outstanding candidate who will not only meet criteria for the rank and line but will enrich the Stanford community and bring distinction to the School and University.

Search committee members should understand the labor-intensive, proactive nature of a successful search and be willing to commit the time and effort that is needed. Under the leadership of the chair, each committee member is expected to participate actively in casting the hiring net as widely as possible in order to establish an outstanding pool of candidates. Toward this end, the committee should engage in a detailed discussion regarding the rigor expected of the search process; the programmatic need of the division, program or subfield for which the search is being conducted; the current composition of the department; the ways in which the search fits into the department's academic plan; the criteria for the position being sought; and the methods for actively recruiting women and minority candidates.

To avoid frustration and a negative effect on both the members of the search committee and the candidates, searches should move forward in an orderly manner. A realistic timeline for recruiting applicants and interviewing candidates should be developed, working backward from a target completion date. Toward this end, the Search Process Time Line (pdf) should be used as a guide.

The committee should establish selection criteria and procedures for screening and interviewing candidates and for keeping records before advertising the position and before materials from applicants begin to arrive. (Information on recordkeeping can be found in Section IX.B.4.) The committee should also reach a consensus on how different qualifications will be weighted.

5. Confidentiality

In order to keep the process as focused and self-contained as possible, specifics of the search process should not be discussed with anyone outside the search committee with the exception of the department chair or his or her delegate. This policy ensures that the candidacy of each person is treated with utmost confidentiality. It also provides an opportunity for those making the selection to have the freedom to discuss the candidates during committee meetings without fearing that their comments will be shared outside the deliberations. A breach of confidence by a participant in the search process would be considered a serious violation of professional ethics and could result in disciplinary action.

6. Conflicts of Interest

In cases where a known candidate, either external or internal, is likely to emerge as the candidate of choice, anyone who has served as a mentor or a collaborator of the candidate should recuse themselves from the search and selection process. (See Section VII.C.1 for further information on the identification of known candidates.) This will reduce the possibility that some candidates might not apply because they are aware of the search chair/candidate relationship. Additionally, the candor of the external referees might be affected if the solicitation letter bears the signature of the search committee chair and his or her relationship to the candidate is known.

In some cases, conflicts of interest might emerge only at a later stage of the search. Should this occur, the search committee member with the conflict should be recused immediately.

7. Meeting with the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Leadership

The Office of Diversity and Leadership (ODL) is responsible for providing search committees with resources and support to help ensure that the School of Medicine is achieving its goal of a diverse faculty. Once the membership of a search committee has been approved, the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Leadership will contact the search committee chair to schedule a time for him or her to attend the first meeting of the committee. During this meeting, the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Leadership will discuss recruiting resources, the role of the diversity officer (if applicable) and ways in which the ODL can help support search efforts.

8. Guarding Against Unconscious Bias

A substantial body of data indicates that hiring choices are complicated by consistent negative and positive stereotypes, independent of the gender and race/ethnicity of the evaluator. These stereotypes have greater influence on decisions when perceived urgency or excessive workload causes cognitive shortcuts to be taken. To avoid unintentional bias, it is important that each committee member recognize the potential for positive and negative stereotyping. It is also important to avoid prematurely ranking candidates, which can discourage more thorough evaluation based on higher-order thinking.

The search committee diversity officer is strongly encouraged to share information with the committee about unconscious bias in the search process. Data on unconscious bias is well summarized in a 2006 presentation by Dr. Jo Handelsman entitled "Understanding our Biases and Assumptions: Male and Female," and by Dr. JoAnn Moody entitled "Rising Above Cognitive Errors: Guidelines for Search, Tenure Review, and Other Evaluation Committees." Both are available from the Office of Diversity and Leadership.

« Previous | Next »