Welcome to the Search Process!
The Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI) offers this Best Practices for Recruiting a Diverse Workforce webpage as an additional resource to assist hiring managers and search committees engaged in the search process. We aim to provide you with strategically planned recruitment efforts that will best ensure a well-populated, diverse pool of qualified applicants. This site summarizes best practices identified nationally for search committees to ensure and promote equal employment opportunity and enhance academic excellence.
Search Committee Ethics & Integrity
Searches are an opportunity for WCU to demonstrate high ethical standards and integrity. An effective search is an opportunity for WCU to show itself favorably to many groups and individuals. To attract the highest quality candidates, to retain for the duration of the process the candidates who are most competitive, and to fulfill the responsibility to treat candidates confidentially and ethically, the search committee must commit itself to the following:
- Create a collegial environment that respects the rights and dignity of all persons.
- All information concerning the applicants and candidate pool is extremely confidential. Work to maintain in strict confidence.
- Promptly disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest.
- Receive candidate permission prior to reference checking.
- Represent WCU as a whole, not as individuals or group stakeholders.
- Understand that decisions must be made without regard to any biases of individuals based on protected class and non‐job related selection criteria.
- Understand that the search committee's role is to recommend candidates to the Hiring Manager/Dean who has final authority to select a candidate of choice.
- Understand that search committee members may be removed from the search process if these confidentiality obligations are breached or failure to act in a professional manner.
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