SLA Policy and Procedures for Non-Traditional Tenure-Track Hires

Policy and Procedures for Non-Traditional Tenure-Track Hires

When possible, faculty should be hired through traditional searches; however, there are situations in which non-traditional hires are warranted (see IUPUI’s Office of Equal Opportunity website for a description of the situations in which a non-traditional hire might be appropriate). Non-traditional hires should be rooted in the same core values as any hiring process. These values include: 
  • Transparency - Maintaining transparency throughout the entire process is essential. Other departments and programs in the School should be aware when a candidate is being considered for a non-traditional hire. Transparency also includes presenting the candidate with a clear picture of what this type of search means and not creating false expectations since these searches may also result in failed searches. 
  • Equity – All departments and programs in the School should have equal access to information about non-traditional hiring practices, and procedures related to non-traditional hiring should be implemented equitably across all departments and programs. All potential hires should be treated equitably.
  •  Respect – All discussions about and interactions with potential non-traditional hires should be carried out with the same commitment to the respectful assessment of a potential colleague that would be expected in any traditional search.

Expectations for Non-Traditional Hires

1. All documents and forms related to requesting and reviewing non-traditional hiring requests should be publicly available on the SLA website so that anyone in the School can access information about the process. If exceptional opportunities arise (such as the Presidential Diversity Hiring Initiative), all departments/programs should be informed of the possibility.
2. The department chair/program director should submit a formal request for a non-traditional hire to the dean by clearly stated deadlines (see Procedures for Requesting a Conversion Hire or Procedures for Requesting an Opportunity Hire). These procedures are required to ensure greater transparency and equity.
3. Once the dean gives the approval to move forward, an open screening process should be followed.

Conversion and Opportunity Hires

A. Conversion Hires: Changes in Appointment Type

Eligibility
Conversion hires can be requested for full-time IUPUI faculty who do not have tenure track appointments, including visiting faculty in some situations. To be eligible for a conversion hire:

  1. The department/program must document a need for the hire beyond the person’s current role.
  2. The applicant must hold a terminal degree as determined by the relevant discipline, typically a PhD or MFA.
  3. The applicant and the department/program must demonstrate that the individual will likely be successful in the P&T process and that the department/program has a clear and specific plan for supporting the candidate’s success in P&T.
  4. In most cases, the applicant must have been hired for their current position through a competitive national search.

Individuals in non-tenure track positions that previously were converted from tenure track to non-tenure track are not eligible for a second conversion.


Procedures for Requesting a Conversion Hire

  1. If a department or program would like to request a conversion hire for a particular individual currently holding a non-tenure track (NTT) full-time position, the chair/director should consult with relevant parties – including faculty in the department, the individual holding the NTT position, and chairs/directors of other units as appropriate – before submitting the request.
  2. If the individual holding the NTT position, the chair/director, and the faculty agree that the conversion hire is an appropriate option to pursue, the department should submit:
    1. a completed School of Liberal Arts position request form (if one has not already been completed),
    2. a School request to waive a search form that aligns with the IUPUI Office of Equal Opportunity policies related to no-search hires and addresses the four eligibility requirements outlined above,
    3. the candidate’s CV,
    4. a position description,
    5. a departmental or unit plan for enabling the retention and success of the colleague as tenure track faculty.
      1. This plan should spell out clear procedures for support designed with this candidate’s realities in mind. The document must address specific resources and protocols to be used, including how the department will help THIS candidate be successful.
  3. The dean will review requests and, after consultation with OEO and the EVC, grant or deny permission to move forward with pursuing the conversion hire. 
  4. If the dean grants permission to move forward, the screening process described below will be initiated.

B. Opportunity Hires

Eligibility

There are various reasons a department/program might request pursuing an “opportunity” hire, including increasing the diversity of the faculty in their unit, bringing in a distinguished scholar to meet a specific need, etc.

  1. The department/program must document a need for the hire.
  2. The applicant must hold a terminal degree as determined by the relevant discipline, typically a PhD or MFA. 
  3. If not hired as a tenured faculty, the applicant and the department/program must demonstrate that the individual will likely be successful in the P&T process and that the department/program has a clear and specific plan for supporting the candidate’s success in P&T.

Procedures for Requesting an Opportunity Hire

  1. If a department or program would like to request an opportunity to hire an identified candidate without a search, the chair/director should consult with relevant parties (e.g., the dean, faculty in the department, chairs/directors of other units as appropriate) before approaching the identified candidate.
  2. If there is interest based on the consultations outlined above and the dean approves moving forward, then the chair/director should reach out to the individual to see if they might be interested in the opportunity to interview for a tenure-track position.
  3. If the individual identified is interested in the opportunity and the chair/director and the faculty agree that the hire is an appropriate option to pursue, the department should submit:
    1. a completed current School of Liberal Arts position request form (if one has not already been completed),
    2. a School request to waive a search form that aligns with the IUPUI Office of Equal Opportunity policies related to no-search hires and addresses the three eligibility requirements outlined above for opportunity hires,
    3. the candidate’s CV,
    4. a position description, 
    5. and a departmental or unit plan for enabling the retention and success of the colleague as tenure track faculty. 
      1. This plan should spell out clear procedures for support designed with this candidate’s realities in mind. The document must address specific resources and protocols to be used, including how the department will help THIS candidate be successful. 
  4. The dean will review requests and, after consultation with OEO and the EVC, grant or deny permission to move forward with pursuing the opportunity hire. The dean will give special consideration to departments/programs that can make a clear claim about the person’s ability to cross disciplinary lines in their teaching and research and make a compelling case for how this hire will serve the school and university.

Procedures for Screening a Candidate for a Non-Traditional Hire
  1.  Once the dean gives the approval to move forward with the non-traditional hire screening process, a screening committee comparable to one that would be seated for a regular search should be formed. 
  2. All screening committees will receive equity training from OEO. The committee chair will remind all committee members to speak up and raise equity concerns throughout the screening process. 
  3. The candidate will provide the screening committee with application materials that should include a candidate’s statement, CV, and other materials determined by the committee that allow the committee to assess the tenurability of the candidate (e.g., teaching philosophy, diversity statement, samples of creative activity or scholarship). 
  4. The screening committee will schedule a 1-day “campus visit” for the candidate that will include: 
    1. Meetings with the committee, the dean, and others as deemed appropriate by the committee 
    2. A presentation given by the candidate about his/her/their scholarship or creative activity, which SLA students and faculty will be invited to attend. 
  5. The screening committee will provide faculty and, as appropriate, students the opportunity to give feedback on the candidate before making a final decision. 
  6. A formal, anonymous, and recorded vote from faculty in the department(s) or program(s) should be submitted to the department chair and the dean. 
  7. The screening committee will make a recommendation to the chair or program director about hiring the candidate in a tenure track position. 
  8. If the recommendation is favorable, the chair or program director will make a recommendation to the Dean about hiring the candidate in a tenure track line. 
  9. Any hires that include tenure or at that rank of associate or full professor also require review by the School P&T committee, as outlined in the School P&T guidelines.

This policy and the associated procedures are derived substantially from recommendations the Diversity Hiring Ad Hoc Committee (Holly Cusack-McVeigh, Tijen Demirel-Pegg, Beth Goering, Sumedha Gupta, Ronda Henry, Jack Kaufman McKivigan, Josh Prada) submitted to Dean Tami Eitle on January 11, 2022. Presented to the faculty as policy February 9, 2022.