Effective Faculty Searches Lynn Hollen Lees Vice Provost for Faculty November 11, 2010.

Effective Faculty Searches

Lynn Hollen LeesVice Provost for Faculty

November 11, 2010

Effective Faculty Searches | # 2

Our Goals

• Excellence

• Diversity

• Interdisciplinary scholarship

Why Diversity?

• Increased talent pool

• Student support

• Better teamwork

• Equity

Effective Faculty Searches |er # 3

A Diverse Pool

Population

Ph.D. Pool

Penn Faculty

Penn Standing Faculty 2009

12.4%3.1% 2.0%

82.5%

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A Diverse Pool

Population

Ph.D. Pool

Penn Faculty

Penn Standing Faculty 2009

26%

74%

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Comparison to peers

Data reflect only tenured and tenure-track faculty

Comparison Peers: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Chicago, Rochester, Washington University, Yale

Source: Data Reported to the U.S. Department of Education

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Asian Black Hispanic Women

Penn’s Rank Among Peers 11 / 18 9/ 18 16 / 18 9/18

Low to High Range Among Peers

5.6% – 12.3%(6.7points)

1.8% - 4.9%(3.1 points)

0.8% - 3.3%(2.5 points)

34.1% – 19%(15.1 points)

Grooming Large and Diverse Pools

Active Searches

•Know the obstacles

•Network before opening search

•Use targeted outreach

•Use word of mouth

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Careful and Unbiased Evaluation

Harder than you think!

•Diffusion of responsibility

•Short cuts

•Unconscious bias

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Unconscious Schemas

Natural part of perception and evaluation

• Beliefs about people

• Beliefs about how people “ought” to be

Contributing factors• Ambiguity

• Stress from competing tasks

• Time pressure

• Lack of critical mass

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Fiske (2002). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 123-128.

Unconscious Schemas

Low High

High

Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu (2002). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878-902.

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LowHispanics

Competence

Warmth

Blacks

Whites

Asians

Men

Women

Evaluating C.V.s

University psychology professors preferred “Brian” over “Karen” by 2:1

Brian

Steinpreis, Anders, & Ritzke (1999) Sex Roles, 41, 509.

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Karen

Callbacks

Black-sounding names (“Jamal”): 15 resumes = callback

White-sounding names (“Greg”):10 resumes = callbackEquivalent to 8 extra years experience

Bertrand & Mullainathan (2004) Poverty Action Lab, 3, 1-27.

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Letters of Recommendation

Trix & Psenka (2003) Discourse & Society, 14(2), 191-220.

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Letters for women

• Shorter

• Fewer references to c.v.

• Twice as many gender references

• More references to personal life

• Fewer standout references (“excellent”) and more “grindstone” references (“hardworking”)

• Twice as many hedges and irrelevancies (“It’s amazing how much she’s accomplished”)

Influences on Advancement

Martell, Lane, & Emrich (1996) American Psychologist, 51, 157-158.

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Simulated organizational hierarchy

• Start with 50-50 gender mix

• Assume 1 percent bias in promotions

After eight promotion cycles:• Highest management level 65% male

Reducing Bias

• Reducing ambiguity

• Avoiding “solo” presence in pool

• Taking time to review applications

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Dovidio & Gaertner (2000). Psychological Science, 11, 315-319.

Fiske (2002). Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 123-128.

Martell (1991). Journal of Applied Soc Psychol, 21, 1939-1960.

Dasgupta & Greenwald (2001). Journal of Pers & Soc Psych, 81, 800-814.

Careful and Unbiased Evaluation

• Wider accountability

• Supportive, diverse committee

• Familiarity with research on bias

• Structured, evidence-based review• Apply consistent, objective criteria

• Evaluate entire application

• Treat recommendations with care

• Avoid over-reliance on prestige

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Effective Visits

• Show enthusiasm• Offer dual-career and family-friendly policy

information• Identify colleagues who can discuss climate for

women and minorities

• Introduce the city and region

• Stay in contact• Be even-handed and transparent in negotiating

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Partner Status of Penn Faculty

Women (n=396) Men (n=553)

Source: Stanford Clayman Institute 2006 Survey

• Faculty Opportunity Fund

• Benefits and Retirements Brochures

• Online Application System

• HERC

• Accompanying Spouse-Partner Program

• Relocation Assistance

• Child Care

Some Resources

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Discussion

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