You filled out applications, visited the campus, spoke with students and faculty and ultimately wound up as a part of Fairfield University. That probably sounds like the process undergraduates went through before coming here.
It is also the process that new Fairfield professors have to go through. Most students are not aware of how the professors that lecture in front of their classrooms each day got in that position. Yet this behind-the-scenes recruiting of new faculty for next year is already well underway.
Each year, there are usually about a dozen faculty positions to be filled. This year, however, there are more than 20, according to Orin Grossman, academic vice president, who oversees much of this process across the disciplines.
Timothy Snyder, dean of arts and sciences, said the process of hiring new faculty “is one of the most important things I and my college faculty colleagues do…a new professor is ultimately a member of our departmental family.”
Students at Fairfield, according to Snyder, are probably more involved in this process than students elsewhere. A candidate most often teaches a class and joins students for lunch or a tour during his or her visit to the University.
As part of the annual budget process, each department examines its faculty and submits requests for new faculty to the appropriate dean and to Grossman. They then narrow down these submissions according to need and budget.
The recruiting process begins when a search committee of faculty members is formed and approved advertisements are placed in publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, discipline-related magazines and often where they can be accessed by underrepresented candidates, said Snyder.
Academic resumes that have been sent in by applicants are screened and narrowed down by committee members.
“What is critical to me is that the process is a two-way street,” said Norman Solomon, dean of the Dolan School of Business.
Visiting candidates receive tours and do more interviewing. Particular emphasis is given to presentations they must make in a classroom of students.
“We take student opinion seriously,” said Grossman. “There is usually a form for them to fill out afterwards.”
There are some students who say they were not asked to give any written feedback after listening to a candidate’s lecture.
Renee White, associate sociology professor, and co-chair of Black Studies this academic year, said she did a presentation geared toward students during her two-and-a half-day interview process. However, while students were invited, none showed up, leaving only faculty to judge it.
White said that the friendly people she encountered pushed her to choose Fairfield over her two other options.
“I have to say it was a really pleasant experience,” said White.
Grossman noted last year’s high acceptance rate of professors who were offered jobs was almost 100 percent.
Yohuru Williams, co-director of the history and black studies department, is another new faculty member who went through this process last fall.
This year, the ball is already rolling. A few positions have already been filled. For example, three open positions in marketing have been filled by women.
Thus, as students see more and more prospective students checking out the school, they will also be seeing more and more prospective professors teaching trial lessons during classes.
“We spend a lot of resources, especially time, recruiting new colleagues,” said Snyder. “If we, and they, are successful, they will be with Fairfield for dozens of years.”
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