Recruiting and cultivating exceptional talent is a strategic priority at the University of South Carolina – one essential for strengthening our university and sustaining our prominence as one of the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive public universities. As stewards of the university, those who serve on search committees play an integral role in shaping USC’s faculty body by helping to recruit diverse individuals who reflect our high standards of academic and inclusive excellence.
In collaboration with the Division of Human Resources and the Division of Access, Civil Rights, and Community Engagement, the Office of the Provost is pleased to launch the university’s new search committee training, "Conducting Inclusive Searches." Covering both foundational compliance requirements and clear expectations for the implementation of best practices for recruitment and hiring, the training is designed to ensure that searches for open faculty and academic administrator positions are carried out in a consistent, fair and inclusive manner.
Search committee members hold a collective responsibility to take deliberate, meaningful actions to acquire and retain a world-class faculty. Consequently, all employees serving on a search committee at the behest of the Office of the Provost are required to participate in the training. To better serve the needs of the campus community, "Conducting Inclusive Searches" will be offered in both virtual and face-to-face formats. The registration form will be available soon for session sign-ups.
| Dates for Spring 2025 Faculty Search Committee Trainings** | ||
|---|---|---|
| January | Wednesday, Jan. 22 | Virtual |
| February | Wednesday, Feb. 5 | Virtual |
| Thursday, Feb. 20 | Face-to-Face | |
| March | Wednesday, March 5 | Virtual |
| Thursday, March 20 | Face-to-Face | |
| April | Wednesday, April 2 | Virtual |
| Thursday, April 17 | Face-to-Face | |
| May | Wednesday, May 7 | Virtual |
** All in-person trainings will take place in the Hollings Program Room in the Hollings Library inside the Thomas Cooper Library.
The Office of the Provost expects the membership of every search committee to include an Excellence Advocate (EA).
The primary function of the EA is to ensure that best practices in fair, open, and inclusive searches are followed. Specifically, the EA is responsible for confirming the recruitment process was exhaustive, all applicants were given due consideration and reviewed equitably and search processes were fair to all candidates and finalists.
Although all members of the search committee should be knowledgeable about inclusive hiring practices as well as affirmative action/EEO requirements, the EA helps the committee stay focused on these efforts. Importantly, the EA will garner the knowledge base requisite for their success from the university training. Consequently, they need not possess a particular background, nor be an underrepresented minority. Indeed, a unit’s attentiveness to the disproportionate burden faculty of color experience regarding service work might encourage others to step forward.
The Excellence Advocate is responsible for upholding the University’s commitment to inclusive excellence throughout the search process
- Ensures that a new job announcement is created that widens rather than limits the applicant pool
- Actively promotes recruitment strategies to increase the diversity of the candidate pool
- Communicates the committee’s aggregate data needs to the unit’s HR office
- Ensures that all evaluation forms to assess candidates are based on the stated criteria and used consistently
- Ensures that all semi-finalists and finalists are treated fairly throughout their experience with USC