Professional Development

Search Advocates are collaborative process experts who work with search committees to enhance the quality of university search and selection efforts.  The 2-part Search Advocate workshop series provides theory, research, and practical strategies that advocates can use to help search committees test their thinking, address complex process concerns, improve search validity and fairness, understand/promote diversity, and anticipate/address potential bias risks.

Participants who complete Sessions I and II are eligible to serve as search advocates on OSU search committees.   Search advocates are required for Provost's Initiative and Tenured Faculty Diversity Initiative tenure-track search committees, beginning with the development/review/revision of final position descriptions before they are approved for positing.

Session II addresses key bias risks/remedies during and after a search. The session concludes with a panel of current search advocates who describe their experiences in this role and answer questions.