Applications for each vacancy should be invited from the widest possible audience. While this fulfills affirmative action guidelines, its value is deeper: both quality and diversity are more likely to be enhanced with completely open, widely advertised searches. In addition, be as general as possible in describing qualifications and areas of scholarly expertise. Quality and diversity are adversely affected to the extent that position descriptions are narrowly defined. Ads should make clear that (with the exception of Cooperative Extension) all tenure track appointments include responsibilities for both instruction and disciplinary scholarship.

Refer to the UGA International Student, Scholar and Immigration Services (ISSIS) website when recruiting for faculty rank positions that may attract an international applicant pool to review a recommended guide for advertising the position.

Before a position is advertised, job-related screening criteria should be developed based upon the position description. These criteria must be applied equally to each applicant. If two applicants seem equally qualified, there must be identifiable determining factors which will make the final selection one that can be justified. Formal interviews should avoid questions that are not related to the applicant’s skills, qualifications, or other job-related factors. Neither the interviewer nor any other pre-employment inquiry should seek information which might be viewed as the basis for a biased hiring decision. The following subjects of inquiry may be regarded by compliance agencies as evidence of discrimination:

• race, national origin, religion, age, sex, disability, or veteran status;
• marital and family status - including child care problems;
• plans to have children;
• height or weight (unless this information is job-related);
• friends or relatives working for this institution;
• arrest records;
• applicant’s credit rating;
• other financial data.

Any faculty position at UGA is eligible for a temporary non-immigrant work visa sponsorship. Since faculty positions assume permanence, especially those that are tenure track, sponsorship for permanent residence may also be considered. If a hiring unit brings a foreign national candidate to campus for an interview it is advisable to arrange an appointment for the candidate and a staff member from the hiring unit with the appropriate staff member from the UGA International Student, Scholar and Immigration Services (ISSIS).  ISSIS will assist the candidate and department with both visa sponsorship and permanent residency.  In general, H-1B visas are used to initially hire faculty with a subsequent initiation of the permanent residency process.

Faculty must be assured that teaching responsibilities are comparable to those of the best public research universities. In order to get a young faculty member off to a good start, consider a temporary reduction from the standard teaching responsibilities for one year. This will allow more time for refining course materials, setting up a laboratory, modifying dissertations for publication, learning the ropes at the university, etc. The package, in short, should be one designed to attract the best candidate available to The University of Georgia.

Candidates should be made fully aware of career development opportunities here. See the Center for Teaching and Learning Website for information.

Before offers are made in any of the previously targeted areas, the hiring unit must demonstrate to the Dean or the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs that special steps were taken to expand the applicant pool and to include among the finalists qualified applicants from the under-represented groups. The responsibility of the Dean or the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs is to review documentation to be satisfied that aggressive and thorough affirmative action steps were taken before an offer of employment is made. Offers should not be tendered until the Dean or the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs has written to the unit executive officer specifying that the relevant documentation has been reviewed and they are satisfied that the appointment should be made.

A majority of the membership of any Dean Search and Screening Committee shall comprise of tenure and tenure-track faculty members from the school or college for which a new dean is being sought. Such faculty shall be appointed by the Provost from a list of nominees generated through an open process that ensures the consideration of any interested faculty member from the school or college. Members of the search and screening committee may not be considered as candidates for the deanship. Each school or college shall adopt and maintain on file with the Provost’s Office a written procedure for the nomination of faculty to search and screening committees. The procedure may involve the school’s or college’s representative body, such as a faculty senate, but it must allow all faculty in the school or college to be considered for inclusion on the list of nominees.

Dean Search and Screening Committees shall also include at least one member from the current staff, and one current student. Such staff member shall be appointed by the Provost from a list of nominees generated through an open process that ensures the consideration of any interested staff from the school or college. Such student member shall be appointed by the Provost from a list of nominees generated through an open process that ensures consideration of any interested students from the school or college.

The employment and/or payment of nonresident foreign nationals shall be in compliance with all applicable federal laws and shall comply with all relevant visa restrictions (BoR Minutes, April 2002).

UGA International Student, Scholar and Immigration Services (ISSIS) must be consulted before making a commitment to hire a foreign national. ISSIS will work with the hiring department, as well as the individual, to ensure that all federal laws and regulations are met before employment begins.

I. Introduction

This policy is intended to enhance the University’s ability to recruit outstanding faculty members who are part of a dual career academic couple. Increasingly, potential faculty members are part of a dual career couple, and a major condition of acceptance of an offer from the university is the employment of both members of the dual career couple.  Therefore, the University of Georgia has established a dual career hiring policy to ensure that we remain competitive in the faculty hiring process.

II. Purpose

The dual career program at the University of Georgia will provide resources, including funds, to assist departments in the appointment of dual career faculty couples. At this time, appointments will be considered only within the University of Georgia and not with other institutions.  For purposes of this policy, a tenured or tenure-track faculty member being recruited by a department will be termed the “primary faculty appointment” and the accompanying faculty member, who may be considered for a tenured or tenure-track or non-tenure-track (e.g., lecturer) position, will be termed the “associated or secondary faculty appointment.”  Faculty appointments, including teaching or other faculty ranked position, are described in the UGA Academic Affairs Policy Manual sections 1.02 and 1.03.

III. Guidelines

a. This policy does not apply to already-employed faculty members or to staff positions other than exceptional situations, as approved by the Provost.

b. This policy does not create any entitlement or contractual rights to employment assistance or employment or any other obligation with respect to any candidate’s family member.  Every effort will be made to assist dual career faculty couples in finding suitable employment under this policy at the University, but given finite resources and the need for an appropriate fit, it will not be possible to respond to the employment needs of all dual career faculty couples.

c. The program provides funds from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost to assist schools and colleges with secondary faculty appointments. The terms of the program are as follows:

1. There must be an appropriate fit between the qualifications of the person seeking the secondary faculty appointment and the available or proposed faculty position.  The appropriateness of fit is at the discretion of the unit in which the appointment will be made.

2. The unit which appoints the primary (recruited) tenured or tenure track faculty member provides a minimum of one-third of the salary of the secondary faculty member for no more than two years; and,

3. The unit which appoints the secondary faculty member provides a minimum of one-third of his/her salary for no more than two years as part of the initial employment;

4. The Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost provides up to one-third of the salary for the secondary faculty hire.  The salary support from the Office of the Provost for the secondary faculty position will be for no more than two years.

5. All applicable hiring policies and processes, including job references and background check, should be followed to finalize the faculty hire.  The receiving unit may make an offer of employment only after the conclusion of negotiations regarding terms and financial support.

6. If the faculty member in the secondary position leaves his/her appointment before the end of the agreed-upon term, the salary funding in this position at the time will revert according to the initial proportions indicated above.

7. The primary unit is committed to funding only for the period specified in the original agreement between the hiring units and the Provost. The continuation of the appointment of the secondary faculty member shall be entirely under the purview of the unit in which that individual is appointed in accordance with all personnel policies and procedures applicable to similar appointments in the unit.  The letter of appointment should explicitly state if, beyond the term of the agreement, the position is contingent on the availability of funds.

8. Implementation and scope of the dual career faculty program is contingent upon funding.  Departments should route the completed Dual Career Faculty Application Form to their respective deans for signatures prior to submission to the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.  Requests will be considered on a rolling basis and funding is at the discretion of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.

Reviewed by EOO
September 10, 2013

Source:
Office of the Provost