Frequently Asked Questions: Faculty Search and Recruitment

• Visit the Faculty Search and Recruitment website.
• Review the comprehensive SMU Model for Search and Recruitment (first hyperlink on page).
• Watch the video called: “Tour of Overall Faculty Search Process.”

You will find a series of 3-5 minute videos in Box: Search Workshop Videos.

The Provost and deans make final determinations of approved faculty searches in June/July each year. By the beginning of July, the infrastructure for all faculty searches is set up in Box and Interfolio; lists of approved searches are confirmed, and faculty can engage with the search process at any point beginning in early July. If expedited decisions are needed, these are made in late May and early June at the dean’s request. Timelines within each school/college/department are established internally (see School/College-Specific Guidelines accordion below).

• All search committee members must participate in Searching Intelligently hosted by the Diversity Office. Email Brice Mallett (bmallett@smu.edu) for a schedule of offerings or reach out to your school/college diversity officer.
• All search chairs must view the 18-minute required video: Faculty Recruitment Compliance Considerations. This video is hosted by Office of Institutional Access and Equity.

Each search has a Box folder that the associate dean, faculty search chair, and administrative support staff have access to. The following documents are required at each step of the search process:

1. Forms 1, 2, and 3 with all obtained signatures. These must be loaded into the Box folder associated with each search.
2. Copies of all advertisements and receipts for posting.
3. Written evaluations of each of the finalists (typically 3-4 finalists). Note that each member of the search committee must have a written evaluation on file.
4. Email documentation of approval for any “substantive changes” during the process.

Examples include changes to the position itself (e.g., changing assistant professor to open rank); changes to the budgeted salary amount; or moving candidates on the long list to the short list after Form 2 has been signed. These approvals should be an email copying the associate provost of Faculty Success.

Variances to the hiring process are rare exceptions when one or more of the required steps in the search process are circumvented when making an offer to a candidate. In such cases, the dean must make a request to the Provost, who will make a final determination after consulting an advisory team.

Contact your associate dean of Academic Affairs or your search liaison (e.g., the department coordinator or the dean’s office executive assistants). You can also copy facultysuccess@smu.edu.

Yes, some form of screening interview is required, typically for 8-12 candidates who are being considered for the final 3-4 candidates on the short list. A good guiding principle is to ensure that all candidates are asked the same questions. It’s a good idea to build and review those questions as a team; follow-up questions should not shift the interview such that substantial differences across candidates emerge.

All offers must be approved by both the dean and the provost before the candidate is made an offer; this is tracked through Form 3.

All offer letters to faculty who join with tenure are on Provost letterhead/signature. The dean formalizes the offer with this letter. All other offers are designated to the dean for signature. See section below on School/College Specific Guidelines for who negotiates the offer.

Within 2 business weeks, we require that the department take these steps:

• Department coordinator (or dean’s assistant) requests an SMU ID # once the contract is returned.
• Department coordinator (or dean’s assistant) uses the obtained SMU ID# as a subject line and sends the contract directly to facultycontract@smu.edu, which goes to the Office of Faculty Success and to HR.
• Department coordinator uploads the faculty member’s CV and official transcript into the faculty credentialing system using the e-form process through my.smu.edu.
• HR conducts an employee background check so that the new faculty member can receive their SMU email. The new employee must respond to this HR request as soon as possible in order to obtain an SMU email. It is helpful if the faculty search chair communicates this with the candidate.

Departments/Schools

We encourage the department/school faculty to do direct outreach to the new faculty member throughout the summer. The department organizes office space, keys, etc. The department is responsible for adding their credentials (CV and transcript) to the credential e-form and to adding them to the fall schedule. As soon as new faculty are added to the schedule, they receive access to Canvas and Box. We encourage the department to connect the new faculty with their ATSD to ensure technology transitions are smooth.

The Office of Faculty Success

We send a welcoming email to all new faculty in each of May, June, and July. We use the email address on their CV as well as their obtained SMU email address. We offer optional Zoom-based “welcome conversations” throughout the summer. On the Wednesday prior to classes beginning, we host a full-day required new faculty orientation. For faculty who cannot attend, we host a required makeup orientation later in the fall. On the Sunday prior to classes beginning, the President and Provost host a dinner for new faculty.

Human Resources

HR hosts a required three-hour new employee orientation for logistical information. These are offered in person every Monday throughout the year, including summer. New faculty must attend this in order to obtain access to my.smu.edu and to request a parking permit.

In some schools, communications about the search go through the department or division chair, who then communicates with the dean. In other schools, the search committee communicates directly with the dean.

This differs widely by School:

• In some schools, the search chair summarizes the committee’s decision-making process at the meeting and writes up the committee’s rationales (strengths/weaknesses of each candidate) without rank-ordering the candidates. They can indicate whether any of the finalists are unacceptable.
• In some schools, the search chair does the above summary and also rank-orders the candidates.
• In some schools, the search committee makes the decision about the top candidate and sends it to the dean with no chair or dean involvement. The dean makes the offer or delegates the role of making the offer to the department chair.
• In some schools, the department/division chair makes the decision about the top candidate and works directly with the dean.

There is not a rule against this in University policy. However, it is typically discouraged due to concerns about power differentials in the search committee. During the Recruitment Request phase of the search, cases can be made for a department chair serving as a search chair.

Deans work with department chairs to determine the composition of each search.

The associate provost of the Office for Faculty Success establishes a unique Box folder and a unique Interfolio template for each search in July each year, based on the approval letters from the Provost to the deans. At this point, an associate dean in each school/college is responsible for providing access for faculty search chairs and administrative assistants to both the Box folder(s) and Interfolio template(s).

The faculty search chair or assigned administrative assistant provides access.

Depending on the schools, this can be a) the department coordinator, b) the dean’s or associate dean’s executive assistant, c) the faculty search chair, or d) the associate dean.

Depending on the schools, this can be a) the department coordinator, b) the dean’s or associate dean’s executive assistant, c) the faculty search chair, or d) the associate dean.

Depending on the schools, this can be a) the department coordinator, b) the dean’s or associate dean’s executive assistant, c) the faculty search chair, or d) the associate dean.

Depending on the schools, this can be a) the department coordinator, b) the dean’s or associate dean’s executive assistant, c) the faculty search chair, or d) the associate dean.

This differs by school/college. Reach out to your dean, search liaison, and/or the chief diversity officer for guidelines.

The department is responsible for notifying applicants that the search has been completed or failed. This can be done once a signed offer is received. Interfolio can easily be used to do this for all applicants. We encourage the faculty search chair to personalize the outreach to candidates who were on the longlist and who were finalists.

These typically differ by discipline and will therefore vary by department/search. Parameters are not typically governed at the school level.

Note: SMU cannot require diversity statements.

Reference checks must be contacted before any offers are made. The paperwork for Form 3 can be in process while reference checks are conducted. HR will do a formal background check once the final candidate has signed their contract. All faculty contracts must include language that the offer is contingent on a successful background check.