VP&S Tenure Track Search & Recruitment Process

The Department Chair identifies the need for a tenure-track recruitment and presents the proposed recruitment to the Dean’s Office as part of the annual planning process. Center and Institute recruitments should be coordinated with the potential appointing department(s).

Proposed recruitments are evaluated for alignment with VP&S strategic priorities and resource requirements. Final decisions regarding approved tenure-track recruitment slots are made through the Dean’s Office. Approved slots are tracked as part of the VP&S tenure-track recruitment plan.

The search plan establishes the framework for conducting a faculty search before recruitment begins. It documents the strategic rationale and goals of the search, the proposed advertising and outreach strategy, and the approach that will be used to evaluate applicants and develop the initial shortlist, interview pool, and finalist pool.

For tenure-track Assistant Professor recruitments, the hiring unit establishes a search committee of at least five tenured faculty members, including at least one faculty member from outside the Department. Searches involving multiple departments, Centers, or Institutes should include appropriate representation from all participating groups and potential host departments.

The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) reviews and approves the search plan before the search begins.

The position is broadly advertised to identify the strongest candidates, even when the hiring unit has identified a potential candidate before beginning the search. The search plan should identify how and where the position will be posted and advertised based on departmental Standard Search and Evaluation Procedures (SSEPs).

The HPC Shortlist Review provides the Hiring Priorities Committee (HPC) with early visibility into the candidate pool before interview invitations are extended. Once the search committee has identified candidates for potential interviews, the department should submit the HPC Shortlist Submission Form to the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA), along with the required supporting materials.

The submission should summarize the overall applicant pool and provide information on each shortlisted candidate, including the candidate’s qualifications, strengths and areas for consideration, and potential strategic contribution to the department and school. This early review also allows HPC to identify potential overlap or alignment with other VP&S searches and consider opportunities from a broader institutional perspective.

The search committee evaluates applicants and identifies candidates to invite for further consideration. Selected candidates give in-person seminars that are open and advertised to the CUIMC community, with efforts made to engage faculty and others with overlapping expertise or interests. For Center- and Institute-led searches, top candidates are reviewed with the relevant Department Chairs before recruitment visits are coordinated.

Following completion of the recruitment visits and candidate evaluations, the search committee identifies the finalist it recommends for appointment.

At this stage, the hiring unit identifies the anticipated resources necessary to support the proposed recruitment, including space, start-up support, personnel, equipment, and other significant research or programmatic needs. This preliminary resource information provides the basis for the more detailed assessment that follows.

The Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) also confirms that the position was posted and the search conducted in accordance with applicable University requirements and the approved search plan before the recruitment proceeds to final academic review.

Before the finalist is submitted to the Hiring Priorities Committee (HPC) for academic review, the Office for Research works with the Department, the finalist, and other relevant entities to conduct a more comprehensive assessment of the resources necessary to support the proposed recruitment. The Office for Research provides its assessment and comments regarding the proposed resource plan.

For physician-scientist recruitments, the Office of Clinical Finance also reviews and assesses the clinical resource needs associated with the recruitment.

The hiring unit should also develop the elements of the faculty success plan that will support the candidate's academic development and progress toward tenure.

For candidates requiring a defined path to scientific or scholarly independence, the Chair outlines a strategy for independent publications and grant funding, including how dependencies or overlap with mentors, collaborators, or former laboratories will be managed. For joint, interdisciplinary, or internal hires, the plan should also address appropriate boundaries and safeguards for independence.

The hiring unit also establishes a mentoring plan that identifies the candidate's mentor(s), mentoring structure, and expectations for ongoing guidance and review. The plan should support the candidate's academic development and progress toward tenure, including research, publications, grant support, career development, and other relevant milestones.

Once the search requirements, resource assessment, and faculty success planning have been completed, the Department submits the finalist to HPC for academic review.

The HPC Academic Review Packet should provide sufficient information for the Committee to evaluate both the finalist and the context in which the recruitment decision was made. The packet should include:

• the finalist's CV and relevant application materials;
• an assessment of the finalist's qualifications, strengths, and areas for consideration;
• information on the other shortlisted candidates who were interviewed, including a brief summary of the search committee's impressions and key observations from the interview process;
• the proposed resource plan, together with relevant assessment or comments from the Office for Research and, when applicable, the Office of Clinical Finance;
• the Chair's strategy for establishing and supporting scientific or scholarly independence, when applicable; and
• the proposed mentoring plan and other relevant elements of the faculty success plan.

Information regarding the other interviewed candidates provides context for the selection of the finalist and allows HPC to consider the finalist in relation to the broader candidate pool.

HPC reviews the proposed appointment, including the candidate's academic qualifications, the search process and candidate pool, the resources necessary to support the recruitment, and the plans to support the candidate's independence and progress toward tenure.

The HPC provides its recommendation to the Dean's Office. The Dean's Office makes the final decision about whether a candidate may be offered a tenure-track position. Departments are notified via HrCules.

Once the appropriate approvals to proceed with an offer have been obtained, the department should prepare the offer letter using the applicable approved offer letter template. All offer letters must be submitted via HrCules to the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) for compliance review to ensure alignment with applicable policies, title structure, tenure-track requirements, and the terms approved for the appointment.

An offer letter may be extended to the candidate only after it has been reviewed and approved by both OFA and the Dean's Office. Departments should not provide a formal written offer, or otherwise communicate that a formal offer has been approved, until these reviews and approvals have been completed.

VP&S also recognizes that opportunities to recruit exceptional faculty may arise outside the annual planning cycle. A Chair or Director may propose a target-of-opportunity recruitment to the Dean’s Office at any point during the year. If the Dean’s Office approves proceeding, the Office for Research initiates an expedited HPC review, and OFA is notified to ensure that the appropriate faculty appointment processes are initiated.