Appendix 2: Protocols for Faculty Hiring and for Search Committees

A. Employees of Dartmouth College:

Mechanisms for requesting new faculty hires (see Subappendix D for Checklist):

  • All requests for new hires into Tenure-track/Tenure Line or Non-tenure Line positions must be sanctioned by the Dean of the Medical School following review and approval of the rationale for how the requested hire meets institutional needs. Requests to the Dean for new faculty hires should follow appropriate input from relevant faculty and approval of such requests requires review of the business plan by the Executive Dean for Administration and Finance, the Dean of Faculty Affairs at Geisel, and (where applicable) the Senior Associate Dean for Research or the Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education. Templates for the business plan may be found on the Office of Faculty Affairs website: Search Committee Documents.
  • All requests for faculty hires are managed online through the Geisel Faculty Recruitment Dashboard:

Dashboard Protocols

  • Sponsoring Department: In some cases (e.g., searches with support through a cluster mechanism or through centers such as Dartmouth Cancer Center) multiple departments may be potential homes for a hire. However, one academic department must be identified initially as the sponsor for that search since neither clusters nor centers can grant faculty appointments. Communication on the search will be managed through that department until the time that a different department is identified as the primary affiliation for the hire.
  • Point person for search procedures: Typically, the Operations Director (Ops Director, or their delegate) within the department seeking approval for a new faculty position is responsible for the input of the search request and any supplementary materials, including a preliminary business plan, into Dashboard. All Ops Directors have full access to their department searches in Dashboard and are on the notifications list.
  • Chair approval: Department Chair reviews/approves search request (electronically). If a co-sponsoring institute (e.g., Dartmouth Cancer Center) will be making a substantive contribution to the planned hire, the sponsoring department and co-sponsor should review and coordinate all material before submission to Dashboard.
  • Approval of preliminary business plan: Fiscal Office and Senior Deans review/approve business plan. Components of business plan may derive from multiple sources/organizations, but communication on the business plan will occur through the Chair/Ops Director of department that is sponsoring the hire.
  • Dean’s Office approval to implement search: Geisel Dean’s Office reviews submitted material and approves initiation of the search.
  • Search number assigned: Administrative Coordinator in Dean of Faculty Affairs Office assigns search number and opens search.
  • Search committee composition reviewed and approved: Search committee constitution is approved by the Dean of Faculty Affairs and the Director of Institutional Diversity & Equity (IDE) on Dashboard (see Subappendix A for protocols on selecting search committee membership).
  • Ad(s) is/are prepared and reviewed in conjunction with the Dean of Faculty Affairs at Geisel and Director of IDE to ensure language meets fair hiring standards and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusivity. See Subappendix A below for information on advertisements. Assessment (ranking) of candidates needs to conform to criteria set out in the ad.
  • Dean’s Office provides funding to support advertisements with organizations/societies dedicated to under-represented minorities in academia: list of approved venues can be obtained through IDE.
  • Unless otherwise approved by the Dean, all searches will require submission of
    • Cover letter, in which the candidate sets out
      • summary of the impact and importance of their past work;
      • statement on how their efforts in all areas (research, teaching, engagement) will be of benefit to the Geisel/Dartmouth academic community;
      • statement of how Dartmouth/Geisel/the Department or Center will be of benefit to their academic program/aspirations;
      • statement of how they have in the past, and plan to in the future, promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive academic community.
    • Candidate’s CV (should not include journal impact factors)
    • Research statement
    • Teaching statement
    • At least 3 letters of recommendation. For senior candidates, especially those recruited for identified leadership positions, letters of recommendation may be requested following review of other materials and the candidate’s visit, but they must be received and reviewed prior to an offer being extended.
  • Once search is opened, all candidate information is submitted and reviewed by the search committee through Interfolio Faculty Search (i.e., this stage of the search process occurs outside of Dashboard; please see Subappendix A below for search process). Ops Director or their designee will coordinate search on Interfolio.
  • Once search committee has completed its review of candidates, Ops Director inputs information, according to IDE protocol, on the short list of candidates and all new candidate information/updates on Dashboard. See document library (information for search committees).
  • Dean of Faculty Affairs and Director of IDE review and approve of candidate short list. At this time, search committee chair may contact candidates to arrange interviews.
  • Final candidate(s) is/are selected by the Chair (vide infra) and the name(s) of the preferred candidate(s) is/are entered onto Dashboard by the Ops Director.
  • When the Chair reaches out to candidate(s), they must inform potential candidates that an offer will be contingent upon candidate(s)’ consent to a pre-employment background check with results acceptable under the Dartmouth Background Check Policy.
  • The business plan is updated (if necessary) and the revised plan approved by the Fiscal Office and the appropriate Senior Deans.
  • Ops Director submits a formal “Request to Hire” on Dashboard and includes a comment on why the preferred candidate(s) is/are best qualified with respect to the criteria identified by the search committee and enumerated in the ad.
  • Department Chair reviews/approves request to hire.
  • IDE reviews/approves request to hire.
  • Geisel Dean’s Office reviews request to hire, inclusive of the revised business plan, and approval is registered on Dashboard by the Dean of Faculty Affairs.
  • Dean’s office will initiate the sequence required for the pre-employment background check.
  • Administrative Coordinator of Faculty Affairs alerts IDE and sponsoring department of approval, and alerts department Chair to prepare draft of the offer letter for Dean’s Office review.
  • Final approval to send an official offer (i.e., letter) must have approval by HR/Dean that the candidate has successfully cleared pre-employment background check.

Post-Dashboard/Interfolio Protocols

  • Offer letter should be structured on approved templates (available on the Faculty Affairs Website) and must be reviewed and approved by Department Head, Fiscal Office, and Geisel Dean’s Office (officers as noted above) prior to being sent to candidate.
  • A copy of the signed offer letter for any successful hire must be sent to Geisel Dean’s Office with other necessary paperwork (e.g., DAB form).
  • All requests for appointments made to the Tenure-track/Tenure Line must be accompanied by a minimum of three (3) letters of recommendation from outside referees and the candidate’s curriculum vitae when submitted, as required from the Dean of Geisel to the Provost of Dartmouth College.
  • To expedite hires to senior ranks, search committees are strongly encouraged to request letters of reference for candidates that explicitly ask the referees to comment on whether the candidate would be considered appropriate for appointment as Associate Professor/Professor and (where applicable) whether they would be considered eligible for tenure--both at Geisel and at their own institution. In addition, for such senior hires, search committees should provide referees with the materials normally sent out for the APT review process (e.g., our APT criteria; see Appendix 5: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Guidelines for Faculty Promotion Procedures). If letters of recommendation sent to the search committee include information required for the APT review, they may be included in the candidate’s portfolio to the APT in lieu of solicitation of additional letters once the candidate has been hired. Such letters must be dated no later than one year prior to the APT review. As such, if the necessary complements of the APT portfolio can be assembled, the review process may ensue at any time following IDE and Dean’s Office approval of the senior hire, in order to expedite informing the preferred candidate that they have been approved at all levels for such senior ranks (and, where applicable, tenure).

B. Employees of Academic Partner Institutions (e.g., D-H, WRJ VAMC, CPMC)

As of December 1, 2015, Dartmouth College no longer requires oversight of searches to hire clinicians or other individuals who contribute to the biomedical community of our academic partners, although Geisel (Dartmouth College) strongly encourages our academic partners to continue in their practice of performing national searches to hire individuals who may become members of the Geisel faculty. Both D-H and WRJ VAMC have policies that ensure a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and fair hiring practices. Moreover, both the Dean of Faculty Affairs of Geisel and the Director of IDE will continue to advise and inform those who are carrying out such searches in efforts to ensure fair and equitable hiring and to promote diversity and equity of our faculty.

Note: Appointment to the tenure-track/tenure line requires a search/waiver from a search as overseen by Dartmouth College. Individuals hired through searches by clinical partners (e.g., D-H, the VAMC) are not eligible to move to a Tenure-track/Tenure Line faculty position in the absence of a search/waiver overseen and approved by Dartmouth College.

Procedures for requesting new faculty hires at Academic Partner Institutions:

  • With the exception of academic titles for Chief Residents/Fellows in approved programs (*vide infra), all requests for academic appointments for new hires by D-H, the WRJ VAMC, or CPMC into AMS Line and Clinical Faculty Line positions must be approved by the appropriate officers of the hiring organization (e.g., appropriate senior leadership at D-H). Appointments in the Clinical Faculty Line for individuals who are community-based preceptors or others hired for teaching in medical education when they do not involve hiring do not need approval.
  • Approval should be entered onto the Geisel Faculty Recruitment Dashboard.
  • Administrative Coordinator in Faculty Affairs assigns search number.
  • Partnering Institution will upload CV of candidate, indicate academic obligations and expectations for candidate, and request suggested rank.
  • Request to appoint to a faculty position (and the specific rank) must be approved by the Department Chair and the Dean of Faculty Affairs. Approval by the Chair may be entered directly by the Chair or departmental administrators may upload emails from the Chair indicating approval and request for a suggested rank.
  • Following approval on Dashboard, candidate will be asked to sign appropriate Terms of Appointment Statement (TOA) as part of hire.
  • The signed TOA should be uploaded with the DAB form requesting an academic appointment at Geisel to the SharePoint site.
  • As with all hires, approval of any academic position requires approval by the Dean of Geisel, the DAB, and the Provost of Dartmouth College.
  • *Requests for appointment at the rank of Instructor for Chief Residents and Fellows in approved programs at partnering institutions do not need to be made through Dashboard, but a signed TOA statement is required. The signed TOA should be uploaded with the DAB form requesting an academic appointment at the rank of Instructor at Geisel to the SharePoint site.
  • Requests for appointment to non-faculty academic (NFA) positions (e.g., research scientists/research associates-clinical employed by entities other than Dartmouth College) do not need to go through dashboard, but do require a signed TOA which should be uploaded with the DAB form requesting an academic appointment at the rank of Instructor at Geisel to the SharePoint site.