Search Process

The Assistant Director, Civil Rights & Equity Office (CREO), provides guidance on policies, programs and services to achieve affirmative action goals and monitor for EEO compliance in search processes.  Any complaints of discrimination or harassment under the Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy, to include allegations of discrimination in search processes and/or hiring, are adjudicated by the CREO. The CREO Assistant Director also responds to external complaints of alleged hiring discrimination filed against UNH with state and/or federal agencies. 

In keeping with their responsibilities, the CREO Assistant Director assumes an important role in the UNH hiring by reviewing the search process for any potential concerns of bias and/or discrimination and documenting search process and hiring decisions supported by specific job criteria at every stage. That means the following in regard to your search:

  • Faculty Search Committee members are required to have attended IncludeU® online faculty search committee training (formerly  Gear Up training) within the last two years before the committee begins reviewing applications for the position.  Please email the names and USNH Usernames (or names and email addresses if they are not part of UNH) of the search committee members who need to complete IncludeU® online faculty search committee training (formerly  Gear Up training) to Peg Kirkpatrick for registration.  Please forward Gear Up certificates of completion for all search committee members to Pamela Hayes.  Additional Search Committee Resources are available here.
  • Prior to conducting interviews with your selected semi-finalists and/or finalists, the CREO Assistant Director must review the EEO report for the candidate pool and give approval to proceed with interviews.   The CREO Assistant Director has up to 5 days to respond to these requests.

Applicant Review

All applicants are to be reviewed by the Search Committee and rationale provided for each applicant moving forward AND not moving forward in a narrative form.

Semi-Finalist/Finalist Interviews

At each stage in the process (semi-finalist or finalist), a narrative rationale must be provided for each candidate to move forward or not move forward in the search process.   Once you have made your selection and the dean/unit administrator has approved the selection, contact Emily Wilcox, CREO Assistant Director, via email (also send a copy to Pamela Hayes) and provide the information needed for the CREO review.

Information to submit for approval:

  • Position Title
  • PeopleAdmin Posting Number:   PFxxxFYxx
  • Please mark the status of each applicant in the search process (applicant, semi-finalist, finalist, hold/alternate, reject)
  • Provide narrative rationales that support each status.  You must provide a rationale for why each applicant is selected as a semi-finalist, Finalist, secondary/hold/alternate candidate, or rejected.
  • Rationales should be based on job criteria only – teaching experience, research.  Avoid using vague terms such as “good fit” or “not a good fit,” as these terms do not provide any specific information related to the job criteria and can appear biased.
  • If you have semi-finalists withdraw from your search and you want to move any candidates from a secondary tier/hold/alternate position, you must present this candidate to the CREO Assistant Director for approval as a semi-finalist prior to conducting an interview. Please provide the rationale as to why this particular applicant is being selected to move forward (particularly if you identified multiple applicants to keep in a secondary/hold/alternate pool). 

Examples of Rationales:

  • Did not meet minimum qualifications
  • Does not have Ph.D. or will not have Ph.D. by date required
  • Ph.D. but not in preferred area of study, other applicants have degree in preferred areas
  • No teaching experience
  • Research not aligned with needs of department
  • Minimal teaching experience and not specific to courses this position would teach

The CREO Assistant Director will review the EEO Report for the applicant pool, the semi-finalists/finalists selected, and the rationales provided about decisions for each applicant. If CREO Assistant Director needs additional information, they will respond to your email. Please allow up to 5 business days for review of your request.

Part II Decision - Hire

(Final candidate selected to extend an offer) Prior to extending an offer to the candidate selected for hire, approval from the Dean/Unit Administrator and the CREO Assistant Director, are required:

  • Complete the UNH Hiring Selection Form PART II DECISION (.xls format).  Provide rationale for the candidate selected for hire.  If you interviewed finalists from which the final candidate was selected, please provide rationales for why the finalists were not selected for hire.
  • Forward the UNH Hiring Selection Form PART II DECISION to the Dean/Unit Administrator for approval.
  • After the Dean/Unit Administrator has approved the selection, forward Part II Decision to Emily Wilcox, CREO Assistant Director, via email for approval (copy Pamela Hayes) .