Excellence in Diversity Hiring Handbook


Introduction

Like many universities, KU has adopted certain hiring practices to improve campus diversity. These practices have been derived from reviews of comparable institutions and professional organizations, as well as recommendations from recent scholarship. More importantly, these practices are meant to work together and reflect a framework for the hiring process that accomplishes the following:

  • Attends explicitly to the historical legacy and contemporary effects of discrimination experienced by racial and ethnic minorities and other marginalized groups;
  • Facilitates active discussion about the importance of social diversity among KU’s faculty and staff;
  • Encourages understanding about, and recognition of, bias and its effects throughout the evaluation of applicants;
  • Asserts diversity, equity, and inclusion as relevant from the start of a search (forming a search committee, drafting a position description, etc.) rather than as simply one of many considerations at the end;
  • Acknowledges the importance of professional development as a critical component of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the search and hiring process; and
  • Implements elements of diversity as best practice in hiring and in general.

In its current form, the Handbook refers specifically to searches for non-tenure and tenure-track faculty hiring. A companion handbook for staff searches is forthcoming. Until the staff handbook is available, however, portions of this Handbook could be applicable or adapted for use in staff searches as appropriate.

With input and collaboration by many campus leaders, the Hiring Handbook was created by the Office of Faculty Affairs, Human Resource Management, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

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