Selecting a Search Committee

The search committee will play a vital role in several stages of the recruitment process. All committee members are expected to fully participate in the search, review the candidates, and to maintain and adhere to state and federal mandates and university policies and procedures as these pertain to searches. The committee is expected to be effective in supporting the university’s commitment to excellence and diversity.

Search committees should be made up of persons who are qualified to evaluate the qualifications of our candidates. Diverse committees enhance your ability to provide the optimum assessment of all candidates and provide each candidate equal opportunity to feel comfortable and welcome in the process. This also reflects the University’s commitment to our student body and community in being all inclusive. Committees should reflect racial/ethnic diversity as well as gender diversity.

“A diverse search committee makes a true multidimensional and multicultural analysis of candidate applications possible. Excellence cannot be achieved without different points of view resident multiple intelligence and different experiences and expertise. These elements also help to mitigate any natural bias found in individual decisions”.

Search committee members do not have to be from the same department, so use the opportunity when possible to bring in someone who has a unique skill-set or may interact with this position on a regular basis. Panel members from outside of the UMW community may also be considered, such as local teachers for an education job, or a fire chief for an inspector job.

For more information please refer to the Staff Handbook.