Recruiting Diverse Faculty and Staff

As a leading academic health sciences center, UMass Chan Medical School is aggressive in its pursuit of the best talent and committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University.

To fulfill that policy, the UMass Chan is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans.

Guide to Recruiting a Diverse Faculty.pdf

It is the policy of the University of Massachusetts to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action. Competitive searches are required to fill all faculty and staff positions except in the following circumstances:

• Visiting Faculty Positions: Assistant, Associate Professors

• Visiting Other Academics: Lectures, Instructors, Adjuncts Post Docs

• Internal department promotions within a defined career path 

• Academic Hourly 

• Temporary non-renewable appointment of up to one year 

• Non-tenure research faculty position in which the individual named serves as the principal or co-principal investigator of any approved research grant(s) that specifically designates extramural support

• Appointment to a faculty rank and title, regardless of the length of term without compensation of a similar position (e.g. honorific titles) 

• Part-time appointments up to 50% 

• An acting or interim appointment made in exigency—typically for one year (Acting or interim appointments may not be changed to a permanent appointment without a search)

Search Waiver Process:

• Approval to Hire Form and Search Waiver Form are completed and processed through Faculty Affairs for faculty positions and Human Resources for administrative staff positions

• Waiver Form is sent to Diversity & Inclusion Office (DIO) for review and approval 

• Signed Waiver Form is sent back to Department to begin hiring process 

• All records of the hiring process must be documented and retained similar to a competitive search process

Waiver of standard search procedures is allowed in the following circumstances:

• Acquisitions – In cases where a UMass Chan clinical department or business unit takes over, merges, or procures services from another organization (e.g. New England Newborn Screening Program, MassBiologics, Worcester Foundation, or group private practice), completion of a search waiver form is required.

• Contracted in Faculty Hiring Package (including spouse/partner appointment) – In circumstances where it is necessary to recruit a successful candidate of a pre-existing search, or to retain a faculty member completion of a search waiver form is required. The position(s) must be clearly delineated in the offer letter to include names and titles of individuals that will be hired and begin employment within a designated time period. The rationale for the exemption and programmatic needs justifying the employment of the faculty, staff or accompanying spouse/partner appointment must be provided. 

• Opportunity Hires to Increase Diversity – Opportunity hires are intended to support the mission of UMass Chan and the strategic diversity goals of increasing diversity of faculty. Such appointments of underrepresented minority scholars made without a national search are intended to be rare and must be based on compelling evidence that the hire will advance diversity. The rationale for the hire must be outlined in completing the search waiver form. 

• Internal Promotion with Expanded Responsibilities – In cases where a new position is created to address the needs of the institution and there is a natural trajectory of an existing position, an appointment can be made without the standard search process. In such cases, the created position must not have existed before and the previous position of the candidate cannot be posted or filled by another individual for one year.

Expedited Searches

•  Expedited searches may be conducted under extraordinary circumstances and upon a written finding of a compelling necessity. For example, an expedited search may be conducted for unquestioned preeminence in the field that would make a longer search inefficient.

• Written request justifying the need for the expedited search must be approved by DIO. 

• All of the standard search procedures must be adhered to in an expedited search with the exception of the posting time period. 

• For faculty, an offer can be made no sooner than three months from the initial posting. For administrative staff position, the offer can be made no sooner than one month from the initial posting. 

• All records of the hiring process must be documented and retained, similar to a competitive search process.