Are search committees really searching?
Academic chair searches are admittedly a labor-intensive process, but they are made more difficult and often lead to less-than-optimal outcomes because search committees spend their time "advertising," "looking," but not truly searching for academic chairs. At the onset, certain "realities" must be acknowledged, including (1) understanding that unless your organization is renowned in the specialty for which you are conducting the search, candidates won't be pounding at your door for a job, (2) searches that fail to include an overall assessment of the department in question are likely to miss the mark, (3) chairs must have demonstrated not only clinical expertise but also business savvy, (4) the best candidate is not necessarily someone who is already a department chair, (5) when it comes to chair searches, it's a buyer's market, and (6) the search process is inextricably linked to the success of the search. Key to the process of conducting an academic chair search are the judicious formation of the search committee; committee members' willingness to do their homework, attend all committee meeting, and keep the committee's activities confidential; crafting, not revising, the current job description for the open chair position; interviewing viable candidates rather than all candidates and adhering to a coordinated interviewing process; and evaluating internal and external candidates according to the same parameters.
Hoffmeir
Patricia A
PA
Tyler & Company, PA 19317-9668, USA. phoffmeir@tylerandco.com
D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007587:Job Description; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States