Several special programs have been established at Stanford to enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain a diverse faculty, these include:
Faculty Incentive Fund
The Faculty Incentive Fund helps make it possible for departments and schools to make incremental appointments of qualified individuals who would bring diversity to the faculty; this can include minority scholars and (in disciplines in which they are underrepresented) women scholars, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the university’s research and teaching programs. In some cases these individuals are not in the precise field in which the department is searching but are in fields that are appropriate for Stanford.
The need for the fund stems from two aspects of Stanford’s faculty appointments situation. First, the rates of faculty growth and turnover are very low; as a result, the university has very few openings, which must of necessity be defined relatively narrowly in order to fulfill the particular academic needs of the departments and schools with these openings. Second, the distribution of minority and women scholars does not map evenly onto the academic disciplines. This means that, particularly with respect to minority scholars, there may be little overlap in any given year between the set of disciplines in which there are hiring opportunities and those in which there are qualified candidates who would increase faculty diversity. The Faculty Incentive Fund resources provided by the provost, together with support supplied by the school, become a tool that facilitates optimum use of the availabilities of scholars who would bring diversity.
Gabilan Provost’s Discretionary Fund
Thanks to an anonymous gift of endowment to the university in 2000 that has been named the Gabilan Provost’s Discretionary Fund, there are resources available for the recruitment and retention of faculty in the sciences and engineering, particularly women faculty. Department chairs and deans work directly with the Provost’s Office to secure these funds. For more information, contact the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity, Karen Cook, or call (650) 725-8471. Information about the faculty who have been designated Gabilan Fellows can be found here.
Faculty Development Initiative
Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
To contribute to Stanford’s ongoing commitment to promoting the comparative study of race and ethnicity and to promoting faculty diversity, the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE), in collaboration with the Provost, launched the Faculty Development Initiative (FDI). Announced by the Provost in spring 2007, the FDI’s primary goal is to facilitate the appointment of a least ten outstanding new faculty across the University that will help expand the research and teaching mission of the CCSRE as it enters its second decade. Over the next five years the CCSRE’s Faculty Development Initiative will create a collaborative environment where schools and departments will participate in a multifaceted recruitment and appointment project to hire junior and senior faculty in subject areas focusing on issues of race and ethnicity. The initiative is a collaborative arrangement between the CCSRE, the Office of the Provost (through the Special Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Diversity, Professor Matt Snipp), the Office of the Dean of H&S, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity. The FDI will employ multiple strategies for recruitment and appointment of faculty. An Advisory Group consisting of senior faculty will provide advice and consultation for the initiative. For more information contact Professor Matt Snipp.
Target of Opportunity
The faculty appointment process at Stanford normally begins with a national (and often international) search for the best available person who fufills the needs of the open position. Faculty search committees are required to engage in a rigorous effort to identify qualified women and minority candidates. Occasionally a department or school identifies without a search a truly exceptional individual who would greatly enrich its faculty; e.g., by bringing uniquely outstanding scholarship and/or diversity to the department. In such "target of opportunity" cases, a search waiver may be requested from the Provost. Search waivers for junior faculty are granted only in extraordinary circumstances and in situations with compelling needs.
