Office of Affirmative Action
Selecting Finalists

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In the evaluation process, however, the most qualified candidate may not necessarily be the individual with the most traditional publication record, academic or administrative experience. The criteria for selection should therefore include the ability of a candidate to enhance the quality and/or scope of services offered, or in the case of faculty, to enlarge research and pedagogical interest and to contribute to the life and cultural diversity of a department.

The committee should identify at least two finalists, and preferably three, whom they will recommend to the hiring official. They should identify, in writing, each candidate's relative strengths and weaknesses, and indicate in which ways the candidate could contribute to the unit. Again the commitment to diversity must be an essential factor in this decision making process. Therefore assessing a potential hire's contributions might include consideration of one or more of the following:

1. Ability to enhance services to meet the needs of previously unserved or under served populations.
2. Ability to diversify curriculum and pedagogy to meet multiple or different interest.
3. Ability to be a role model or mentor to majority as well as minority students.
4. Ability to extend the boundaries of current research by directing or supervising in non-traditional areas.
5. Ability to attract targeted external funds.

Where an affirmative action candidate is not included among the finalists, the committee should be prepared to discuss, with the Affirmative Action Officer and the hiring official, how the qualifications of the candidate(s) recommended exceed those of the affirmative action candidates.

Upon conclusion of the evaluation process the search committee must forward its recommendations and the Recruitment Form to the department unit head.

The unit head should review the documents and then forward them to the Affirmative Action Officer, who will then conduct a review and advise the Deans, Vice Presidents, or President as to whether the search was bona fide i.e. conformed to campus guidelines and other relevant laws, statues, etc.