WISELI
Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute

Searching for Excellence & Diversity®

A Workshop Series for Faculty Search Committees

Each fall semester, WISELI provides workshops for faculty search committees.  These workshops aim to help faculty conduct effective searches and to recruit and hire excellent and diverse faculty.  The workshop provides  information, advice, and strategies for the following elements of a search:

  1. Running effective and efficient search committees
  2. Recruiting a highly qualified pool of diverse candidates
  3. Understanding the potential influence of unconscious bias on evaluation of candidates
  4. Ensuring a fair and thorough review of candidates
  5. Developing and implementing an effective interview process
  6. Successfully hiring selected candidates

The workshop consists of several parts: The first part, an online module, should be completed prior to workshop attendance. It covers Element 1 and part of Element 2.  The second part is the workshop which is typically presented as a two-part series. The first session covers Elements 2-4, and the second session covers Elements 5-6. (Ocassionally both sessions are offered in one combined session.)

NEW!! We are now offering a “Refresher/Update” session for faculty and staff who have participated in at least two complete workshop series during previous years (that is, they have attended both Session 1 and Session 2 twice, or have attended a combined session twice).  This “refresher” session will consist primarily of discussions that will focus on:

  1. Sharing experiences and strategies for recruiting diverse and excellent applicants
  2. Considering how evaluation of candidates has been conducted and effective strategies for reducing bias
  3. Providing information on new resources, new research, and new evidence-based strategies.

Workshop Materials  |  Resources for search committees

UW-Madison Workshop Schedule & Registration

Not at UW-Madison?

We’ve held Searching for Excellence & Diversity® workshops at dozens of colleges and universities, and can arrange to come to yours.

GET FULL INFO

Workshop Schedule

Summer 2020:  Due to COVID-19 restrictions, WISELI will host a virtual workshop series

Session 1 of the two-session series will be offered on the following two dates:

This 1.5-hour session is intended for members of faculty search committees that will begin recruiting applicants before the fall semester. It will cover the early stages of the search process: Running an effective committee, recruiting a diverse and excellent applicant pool, and conducting fair and equitable evaluations.

Session 2 will be scheduled in consultation with those who participate in Session 1.

Fall 2020: Please check back here in August 2020 for the Fall schedule.

NOTE:  Any fall sessions will likely be conducted virtually.

Please contact WISELI for more information or to schedule a session for a particular school or college.

Workshop Schedule - Fall 2020 - Virtual Sessions

Cross College Workshops   |   Health Sciences Workshop

Cross-College Workshops:

CALS, COE, L&S, and other schools and colleges

This is a two-part workshop series. Please select and register for a Session 1 date (first column) AND Session 2 date (second column) below. Please complete your registration at least one week before the date of the first session you will attend. If you cannot attend either session, please contact Eve Fine (efine@wisc.edu) for additional options.

The schedule for Fall 2021 workshops will be posted in August 2021.

Session 1 — 2020

Thu Sept 17, 2:00-4:00pm | REGISTER

Fri Oct 2, 9:30-11:30am| REGISTER

Course links will be provided to registered participants via email

Session 2 — 2020

Thu Oct 29, 2:00-4:00pm | REGISTER
For committees who have completed substantial evaluations of candidates on/before this date and plan to begin interviews in November

Thu Nov 19, 2:00-4:00pm | REGISTER

Fri Dec 11, 9:30am-11:30am | REGISTER

Course links will be provided to registered participants via email

Refresher/Update

Fri Oct 16, 9:30-11:00am | REGISTER

Prerequisite:  Completion of at least two workshop series (Session 1 and Session 2) or combined sessions in previous years

Health Sciences Workshop — 2021

for

Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine

Mon. September 13, 12:30-3:30pm | REGISTER

Please complete your registration by September 9

Workshop materials

Searching for Excellence and Diversity: A Guide for Search Committees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (PDF). Members of the UW–‍Madison community can contact WISELI to obtain hard copies of this guidebook.

Reviewing Applicants:  Research on Bias and Assumptions (PDF). A brochure summarizing research on unintentional biases and assumptions and their potential influence on evaluation of faculty candidates. Members of the UW–‍Madison community can contact WISELI to obtain printed copies of this brochure.

Resources

WISELI Resources

UW-Madison Resources

Office of the Provost

Office of Equity and Diversity (OED)

The Office of Equity and Diversity provides valuable resources for diversifying the workforce including:

The Office of Human Resources (OHR)

The Office of Human Resources produces the online Recruitment Toolkit which provides valuable information and resources for recruiting applicants. OHR employs a Recruitment Specialist, Adin Palau, who can provide you with advice and recommendations for recruiting diverse and excellent applicants. OHR also provide information about UW-Madison and its benefits to prospective faculty.

Relevant Publications

Media Coverage