HRS oversees all UM recruitment and hiring; procedures for initiating, recruiting and hiring at UM are located on their website. Please visit the HRS page for more information on this process. HRS must be consulted at each stage of the hiring process. The guidelines below are College-specific procedures that complement those of HRS. Also, H&S has a short guide to assist navigating the HRS software, useful for understanding some of the mechanics of their system.

Printable Guidelines for Tenure-Track and Lecturer Hiring

(1) Approval for a Search

The Department Chair requests a tenure-track search to the Dean in late Spring/ early summer. Included in this request is an estimate of start-up costs. During the summer, the Dean prioritizes the searches and forwards the request to the Provost. The Provost decides on which searches are approved and communicates this to the Dean, who communicates this to the Chair.

(2) Search Committee

The Department Chair, in consultation with the Dean, appoints the search committee, including the Chair of the committee. Departments have different practices for selecting committees, but all H&S committees should include a student representative and a member from another department (within or outside of H&S). In choosing a committee, it is best practice to consider previous experience, insuring some members have served on committees before while others gain experience and making sure there is representation in the area of specialization as well as across the department. Before the search begins, the search committee shall meet with the Dean and an Associate Dean to discuss the logistics, finances and best practices related to diversity-friendly searches.

(3) Advertisement

Advertisements for tenure track positions must be approved by the Dean. To save time, these should be approved before the hiring paperwork is initiated. Ads cannot be submitted for publication until all approvals have been received from the Dean, the Provost and HRS. The College has the practice of including a statement of diversity at the beginning of the job as. The following sentences (or something similar to this) can be included at the beginning of the job ad: “The University of Montana invites applications for an Assistant Professor, tenure-track position in **** to begin Fall, 20**. UM, the College of Humanities and Sciences, and the department embrace diversity as a core value. Applications from persons with diverse backgrounds are especially welcome.”

TThe Provost’s office asks that you include a statement on experience in online education in the ad. Committees may want to consider candidates address diversity issues, either through a question in the interview, an explanation in the cover letter or by requesting a diversity statement.

(4) Diversity Resources

• UM Diversity in Recruitment
• Implicit bias. Please ask your search committee to view Project Implicit and take 1 or more of these tests before reviewing applications.
• Selective attention is the idea that we can all witness the same event but see it so differently. This video is one of many that illustrates this idea.
• Each committee should decide if the review of applicants will be a blind review.

(5) Selection for Interview

Under the leadership of the Committee Chair, it is the responsibility of all Search Committee members to ensure confidentiality; follow fair, unbiased practices that safeguard diversity; and to develop and apply thorough, uniform, and relevant criteria in ranking the pool. All members of the search committee should have equal votes in the decision-making process of which candidates to interview. It is best practice to do this voting anonymously so as to give all members an equal voice in the process. Committees may elect to use Qualtrics for this process (this can simplify the reporting to HRS).

The committee should first identify 6-10 candidates to interview remotely (Skype or Zoom). Interviews via Zoom can be recorded and uploaded for all committee members to view. GrizTech can assist in setting up these meetings. From this pool the committee should identify a small field, typically two or three, of highly qualified candidates (with alternates, if possible), to interview on campus. Once these candidates have been selected the Committee or Department Chair sends the CVs of the candidates to the Dean and requests these candidates be invited to campus for an interview.

(6) Campus Interview

Campus interview schedules should be the same for all candidates and should include a meeting with the Dean or an Associate Dean if the Dean is not available. Typically, the candidate gives a presentation of their scholarly work; further, they meet with faculty, the chair, the committee and students. The interview is a chance to learn more about the candidate as well as to sell the candidate on UM.

The College will provide approximately $1000 - $1500 per visit for up to 3 visitors to interview on campus. (Total costs for the search shall not exceed $4000).

Often candidates have questions on UM policies, such as family and medical leave or spousal accommodations, which they may be hesitant to discuss with committee members on a job interview. The H&S page on recruitment and hiring information has both a brochure and many links to UM policy resources. Additionally, consider scheduling a meeting with your candidates with someone from outside your department to discuss these sorts of issues.

(7) Final Selection

In most cases, all the tenure track faculty of a department have a vote in deciding a top candidate and any alternates. In all cases, the Chair should ensure that the voting members and the procedure of the final selection are clear before the search begins. When the department has decided on a top candidate, the Department or Committee Chair discusses the rationale with the Dean and gets approval to proceed. It is suggested that the department indicate at this time if there is a second candidate that is acceptable. If the first candidate declines, it is often necessary to act quickly to make a second offer.

(8) Initial Offer

Once the approval from the Dean and HRS is given to make an offer, the Department Chair should contact the candidate and make the offer on behalf of the University. The initial offer should include details on salary and start-up package (that have been agreed upon by Chair and Dean) as well as a deadline for acceptance. This initial offer is typically made via phone and e-mail.

(9) Negotiation

Once an initial offer has been made, there will typically be a round of negotiations. The Chair should oversee these negotiations in consultation with the Dean. The College typically pays $1,000 - 2,000 in moving costs depending on circumstances and also provides a new computer (consistent with the CBA).

(10) Official Letter of Offer

Once negotiations are complete and the candidate has accepted verbally, an official letter is prepared by the H&S fiscal manager. The letter typically contains information on rank, salary, startup package (financial piece, teaching reductions – if customary in the department, computer, etc.) and moving expenses. Details on prior years of service and how they apply towards tenure are also outlined in the letter (if applicable). The letter will be sent electronically to the department to be printed on department letterhead. The department Chair, Dean and Provost sign the letter. The department sends it to the candidate. Once the letter is returned to the department by the candidate, please send a copy to the Dean’s office. Once your candidate has accepted, contact HR and start the hiring paperwork!

(11) A Typical Timeline for a Successful Search

Revised: September 13, 2019