Faculty Recruiting and Hiring Resources

Search Committee Resources

Policies

AC13 – Procedure for Hiring Full-Time Faculty

AC22 – Search Procedures for Academic Administrative Positions

Guidelines for Faculty Search Committee Composition – These guidelines, as outlined in AC13, detail the information a search committee should provide in the event that it is unable to construct a search committee with diversity among its members.

Tip Sheets

Tip Sheet: Considerations for Recruiting Researchers

Tip Sheet: Guidelines for Conducting Virtual Interviews

Tip Sheet: Guidelines for Recording Candidate Presentations for Virtual and On-Campus Visits

Tip Sheet: Conducting Reference Checks

Affirmative Action Office Resources

The Recruitment and Searches page contains recordings of past search committee briefings and other search committee resources, including retention of records, countering bias, DEI competency rubrics, and the required EEO statement.

2022 Search Committee Briefing: Ensuring Equitable Searches for Faculty Positions
This training is also available on the Learning Resource Network under the title “Ensuring Equitable Searches for Faculty Positions.”

Resources for Hiring International Faculty

Penn State Global offers a number of resources for search committees and units related to hiring international faculty, including requirements for job ads and resources for hiring departments.

Disclosure of Misconduct Process

Finalists for tenure-line positions who are seeking tenure immediately upon appointment must submit a signed authorization and disclosure form to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs prior to their final on-campus (in-person or virtual) interview. Learn more about this process and find the form here. Search committees and administrative support can view this handbook, which provides further details about the process.

Special Hiring Considerations

Hiring faculty whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree

Units wishing to hire a candidate whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree to the position of instructor, lecturer, or researcher (full-time only) must first make a request to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. The request should include a description of the candidate’s experience and/or accomplishments that are equivalent to a master’s degree. This request should be made before an offer is extended to the candidate.

Hiring instructors as independent contractors

Given the complexities associated with Penn State employees working remotely from another country, units may not offer independent contractor arrangements to prospective instructors. Instructors teaching credit courses must be hired as employees in conformity with the current hiring and compensation practice for resident instructors and in compliance with legal and regulatory guidance.

Any unit that encounters an exceptional circumstance that, in the estimation of the dean or chancellor, requires the prospective instructor to be appointed as an independent contractor should make an exception request to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs outlining the compelling reasons why a standard, part-time employment contract cannot be extended and why no other individual can be hired in place of the prospective instructor.

Guidelines for Visiting, Non-Tenure-Line Faculty Titles

Contact Us

If you have any questions about faculty hiring or suggestions for additional web resources, please contact Abby Diehl, assistant vice provost for faculty affairs.