Boston College, like many other national colleges and universities, seeks to attract and retain the best scholars and administrators to bolster its programs for the benefit of its students.
This desire to improve the quality and atmosphere of the University, however, requires more than the typical job interview and résumé.
Candidates from across the country and the world apply to BC for positions as endowed chairs, faculty, staff, and administration, many of whom are sought out by the University through the use of search firms and classifieds in higher education publications.
The process can be lengthy and at times produces no results, according to Vice President for Human Resources Leo V. Sullivan and Patricia DeLeeuw, associate academic vice president, who handle administrative and faculty hires for the University.
Searches are being conducted at present for the directorship of the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Church in the 21st Century Initiative, the dean of the Lynch School of Education (LSOE), the Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculties position, the directorship of Black Studies Program, the Honorable David S. Nelson Chair, and the Rattigan Endowed Professorship in the English department.
The basic process
Every application procedure differs depending on the position being filled. Regardless of what is being filled, the University must define the description and duties of that position.
"It's important to define what you're looking for," said Sullivan. "We lay out what the job entails, that person's duties, what their competencies should be; basically a good written outline as to what the job is and the type of person to fill that position."
In addition, Sullivan noted the importance of looking at the concept of diversity when making hiring decisions.
"You have to think, 'Is this an opportunity to have a broad and full scope search where the utilization pattern isn't always as diverse?'" he said.
After the position is defined in depth, the most basic step is to post the job on the Internet, a good tool due to its speed and international access.
To stop there, however, said Sullivan, would not be a proactive stance.
"If you have a proactive stance, you look at three to four things," he said. "You're trying to attract candidates so where else can you advertise to develop a rich applicant pool?"
In many cases, especially for top level positions, the University employs an executive search firm to recruit people across the country to apply for the position.
In most cases, a search committee is put together to interview and help select the most qualified candidates from that pool.
The search committee is typically composed of faculty, administrators, professional staff, an undergraduate, and a graduate student, said Sullivan.
"For example, the search committee who will help select the director of the Office of Institutional Diversity is broadly diverse," he said. "We interviewed eight to 10 people for the position."
The committee usually narrows the pool down to three finalists who are brought to campus to meet with students from the Undergraduate Government of BC and other constituency groups.
Following that visit, a person is selected for the position and offered the job.
Academic hires
The process for deans, endowed chairs, and senior faculty hires is slightly different from purely administrative departments hires. At the forefront of the search is evidence for scholarship, which usually means publications and/or for senior hires, a Ph.D. from a respected institution. Degrees and scholarship, however, are not enough to get a job at BC.
"Equally important is a good record of teaching and a commitment to undergraduates and graduates," said DeLeeuw. "We pride ourselves on valuing scholarship and teaching. If you are a mediocre teacher, we don't want you, and we won't hire you."
Since most senior faculty job seekers have evidence of both scholarship and teaching, University officials look at applicants' grasp of BC's Jesuit identity and mission.
"We're are also looking for somebody who knows something about BC, its values and its missions, and want to make sure the person we're hiring is sympathetic to that mission," she said.
In addition, applicants for dean positions are examined for their scholarship, teaching, past experiences as a faculty member, administrative ability, and leadership.
"[We want] someone who has a clear vision of the school that he or she will lead and where that school can go, someone who can build consensus and who can understand how his or school can fit into the BC mission," she said.
Endowed chairs
Expectations run higher for filling an endowed chair, said DeLeeuw. Most applicants and those the University wants to apply are senior scholars in their fields, making for a competitive arena not only between candidates, but also between other colleges and universities looking for the same kind of people.
Applicants are often sought out for careers that reflect the qualities of the person for whom the chair was established.This applies to the search to fill the Nelson Chair, which has been empty for four years.
Though search firms are typically not used for faculty hires, the demand to fill the chair has required it, said DeLeeuw.
"It's a firm that specializes in diversity searches," she said of the firm employed for the Nelson Chair search.
Ultimately, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., makes the final decision on endowed chairs after the basic interviewing and selection process is completed.
Difficulties
The process may seem simple and fast enough, but more often than not, it takes on a slow pace.
"It takes time to post the job and then you have to give people time to apply for the job," said Sullivan. "The more people you involve in a process, the more complicated it becomes."
Often times, the problem is not attracting people to the University, which has a national reputation. Road blocks are often more practical, said Sullivan.
"If someone is from another state, housing [in Boston] is different from other states," he said. "That can be a significant hurdle."
Endowed chair searches especially take a great deal of time, said DeLeeuw, due to the level of scholarship and professionalism needed for that position. Those qualified applicants are often found at competitor schools.
"Sometimes even after you find the candidate, he or she is not necessarily willing to leave the place they are at, especially senior scholars," she said. "You have to, in a sense, woo them."
Aside from uprooting family members, those applicants may also have doctoral students working on dissertations that they cannot leave, or scientists may already have established laboratories.
"It's very hard to assist them to create a new life here and the more senior they are, the more established they are in whatever home institution it is," she said.
Salary is almost never the main concern, said DeLeeuw, who pointed to quality of life concerns as the chief causes for difficulties in hiring.
"It's often frustrating but the best thing about it is that it's ultimately rewarding when that person comes to BC and makes a difference," she said.
Sullivan said he wished every student could see the process of hiring people to come to BC.
"I almost wish every student could participate in the recruitment of high-level candidates so they can see how complicated it is," he said. "It really takes time and is a thoughtful process. It would be great for students to be more involved."
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