Faculty Searches

This section includes recommendations to integrate diversity more fully into campus culture, governance, recruitment, and hiring and retention at Swarthmore. Find diversity resources, examples of job ads and descriptions, and information on Mellon Diversity Fellowships and the Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellowships.

Guides for Faculty Search Committees:

Guidebooks in Print:

  • Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: A Campus Guide for Self-Study and Planning. AAUP 2015.
  • Fine, E. and Handelsmann, J. WISELI Guide: Searching for Excellence and Diversity [pdf] (2012). Abstract:  Sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute, very helpful for departments looking to hire in NSE fields.
  • Moody, JoAnn. Faculty Diversity. Removing the Barriers. New York: Routledge, 2011. 2nd Edition.
  • Turner, C.S.V.  Diversifying the Faculty: A Guidebook for Search Committees. Washington, D.C.: AACU, 2002. Abstract:  Informed by the growing research literature on racial and ethnic diversity in the faculty, this guidebook offers specific recommendations to faculty search committees with the primary goal of helping structure and execute successful searches for faculty of color. 

Best Practices in Writing and Reading Letters of Recommendation:

Recruitment Lists

Best Practices for Writing the Position Description

Writing the Job Ad - Best Practices [pdf]

Adapted from the "University of Washington Faculty Job Advertisement Guidelines"

Examples of Position Descriptions

  • “The College is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching, and/or service, to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.”
  • “The College is responsive to the needs of dual career couples.”
  • “Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.”
  • “Swarthmore College’s [department] seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Swarthmore, to maintain the excellence of the College, and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives, and ways of knowing and learning.”
  • “The [department] is interested in candidates who have demonstrated commitment to excellence by providing leadership in teaching research or service toward building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment.”

Mellon Diversity Fellowships

Swarthmore has been a beneficiary of Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grants as well as the American Council for Learned Societies (ACLS).  For more information on current initiatives and support for faculty diversity and career fellowships, please consult their websites as well as the Provost's Office fo current or potential institutional grant initiatives:

Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellowships (CFD Fellowships)

The CFD is an organization of 45 peer SLACs (small liberal arts colleges) with a mission to increase the diversity of students, faculty members and curricular offerings at liberal arts colleges with a particular focus on enhancing the diversity of faculty members and of applicants for faculty positions.  Swarthmore is a founding member of the CFD.

In any given year, Swarthmore sponsors one to two post-doctoral CFD fellows. Departments interested in

  • expanding their regular curricular offerings
  • attracting and retaining a diverse range of students
  • enhancing cohort-building across diverse faculty on campus
  • supporting an innovative and promising new research area

can proactively ask the Provost for a chance to house a fellow in their program or contact the Associate Provost for access to the CFD candidate pool as part of their regular search (many CFD candidates are qualified for tenure track searches).

The Postdoctoral CFD Fellowship

The postdoctoral fellowship is intended for scholars who have been awarded the Ph.D. or M.F.A. no later than the beginning of the fellowship year and no earlier than five years before the beginning of the fellowship year. Postdoctoral fellows will receive compensation commensurate with the salary of a full-time, one-year faculty member with comparable qualifications. Modest funds could be made available to finance proposed research, mentoring of teaching, and scholarship.  The funds allocated for these activities will be subject to the usual institutional procedures. Postdoctoral fellowship recipients will be expected to teach up to 60% of a full-time faculty's course load at a host institution, participate in departmental seminars, and interact regularly with students.

At Swarthmore, fellows normally hold two-year terminal appointments and are expected to teach one course per semester to reserve time for research and publishing.

For more information, consult the CFD Website.