General Points
An affirmative action search and an employment search for quality and excellence are mutually compatible goals. The search is conducted in the spirit of affirmative action, not merely to comply with legal procedures.

Affirmative action, in the state of Connecticut, is applied at the recruiting phase, requiring good faith effort in informing qualified applicants of job openings and attracting qualified applicants from under-represented populations (goal applicants, as defined by CHRO).

Affirmative action in the search process demands that aggressive, proactive, extensive and exhaustive efforts are undertaken to include members of underrepresented groups (usually women, Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans) throughout the search process. Non-discrimination is passive.

Applicant evaluations must be based on qualifications. You must select the most qualified applicant without regard to race, gender, or protected class status. No courtesy interviews or favorable treatment permitted for friends, family, business associates, etc.

Search Review Points
Prior to interview stage - determine whether opportunities exist in the interview group to satisfy affirmative action hiring goals. If there are no opportunities to satisfy goals, would additional recruitment improve the potential?

Pre-offer - determine whether interview and selection processes are consistent with both anti-discrimination and affirmative action standards, as well as fair play principles.

Confidentiality regarding the candidates and the committee's deliberations must be maintained throughout the search. An applicant has the right to review his or her own application file or materials. A breach of confidentiality may damage a candidate's career or candidacy, and the integrity of the search process.

Communications about the search in response to questions from the media, University of Connecticut (University) community, and all others not involved in the search process should be handled by the Search Committee Chair or hiring administrator (or other designated spokesperson). Information that would reveal the identity of candidates should not be released. However, general information about the status of the search process or about the candidate pool as a whole; or, after the search has been concluded, about the specific qualifications of the successful candidate may be disclosed. Departmental search-related materials and records should not be shared with candidates, advocates, news media, or litigants and their representatives. Requests from these sources should be forwarded the University's Privacy Officer, Attorney Rachel Krinsky Rudnick of the Office of Audit, Compliance & Ethics immediately for advice before turning over any documents. Attorney Rudnick may be reached at (860) 486-5256.

University Policy amplifies the law by requiring you to Cast a Broad Net through non-traditional, proactive, aggressive, exhaustive recruiting designed to widely publicize the position to all qualified applicants, including those from underutilized applicant pools, also referred to as under-represented or goal applicant pools.

The term goal applicant is not synonymous with minority applicant. Call the Office of Diversity and Equity (ODE) to determine which groups are considered underutilized (varies by position, title; and changes each year). Underutilization of a population in a work force, occupational category or job title is determined by comparing race and gender distribution of each occupational category in the University's full-time, permanent workforce to available applicant pools, in accordance with formulae promulgated by Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CCHRO).

Role of the Search Committee:

(1) Serve in advisory capacity to hiring administrator;
(2) Participate in the outreach (recruitment) activities, and the screening and evaluation of candidates; and
(3) Recommend candidates for hire.

Role of the Office of Diversity and Equity:

(1) Serve as search advisor, consultant, and resource;
(2) Evaluate the search process - efforts and results - in achieving diversity and affirmative action policies and fair play principles; and
(3) Audit search documentation for compliance with reporting requirements.

Recruitment and Selection of Candidates
Conduct outreach activities (telephone calls, personal letters, face-to- face contacts at conferences, etc.) to seek and identify highly qualified goal candidates. Recruitment plan should include strategies designed to reach and identify competitive goal candidates.

Be creative, aggressive, and proactive in the recruitment phase of the search. It is usually the personal contacts to key resource people that will generate nominations of, or leads to, potential goal candidates. An impersonal mailing to 100 people or organizations often produces a limited response.

Avoid making assumptions about candidates that are potentially discriminatory. For example, chronological age is not a predictive indicator of maturity, experience, commitment or vitality.

Select an interview group that includes only candidates that meet the minimum qualifications and most or all of the preferred qualifications for the position.

Develop common grounds or guidelines for the interviews, such as important topics to cover with all candidates. This is also helpful for conducting reference checks.

Review the "12 Basic Caveats for Non-Discriminatory Interviewing".

Consider "environmental" issues (e.g., location, hosts, courtesies, etc.) in scheduling interviews and arranging campus visits.

Document recruitment contacts and outcomes; document candidate evaluations and selection process (procedures and results).

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