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Many colleges and universities now require faculty search committees to use rubrics when evaluating faculty job candidates, as proponents believe these “decision-support tools” can reduce the impact of bias in candidate evaluation. That is, rubrics are intended to ensure that candidates are evaluated more fairly, which is then thought to contribute to the enhanced hiring of candidates from minoritized groups. However, there is scant — and even contradictory — evidence to support this claim. This study used a multiple case study methodology to explore how five faculty search committees used rubrics in candidate evaluation, and the extent to which using a rubric seemed to perpetuate or mitigate bias in committee decision-making. Results showed that the use of rubrics can improve searches by clarifying criteria, encouraging criteria use in evaluation, calibrating the application of criteria to evidence, and in some cases, bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion work (DEI) into consideration. However, search committees also created and implemented rubrics in ways that seem to perpetuate bias, undermine effectiveness, and potentially contribute to the hiring of fewer minoritized candidates. We conclude by providing stakeholders with practical recommendations on using rubrics and actualizing DEI in faculty hiring.
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Space physics guide to STRIDE: Strategies and tactics for recruiting to improve diversity and excellence
The space physics research community is not diverse. This is especially true at the senior experience levels, but is even true for our student populations, which are also not matching the demographics of the general public. Striving towards a demographic shift to match the general population promotes equity and inclusion. In addition, diversity increases research productivity. Unfortunately, bias exists, including within the space physics research community, and this negatively impacts hiring practices and perpetuates the demographic mismatch. Yet there are many strategies and tactics that can be adopted to counter this problem. A number of these methods are presented and discussed, specifically those regarding the search process for hiring new research group members. The key methods for achieving an equitable search process are as follows: develop a holistic rubric early, even before the job ad is posted; slow down the downselect from the full applicant pool to the short list of finalists so that the rubric can be carefully applied to each candidate; make the interview process as equitable as possible by considering the ways in which it could be biased; and conduct a fair decision-making process that focuses on the job-relevant criteria and avoids global rankings until the final vote.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1663770
- PAR ID:
- 10480361
- Publisher / Repository:
- Frontiers
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
- Volume:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 2296-987X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2023.1152567
