Division of Biology and Medicine
BioMed Faculty Administration

Faculty Recruitment Processes

Learn about the several ways in which a department can recruit faculty including searches, pre-selects, and hiring international scholars.

Pathways for Recruitment

There are several ways in which a department can recruit faculty. Each recruitment avenue requires specific approaches to appointment. BMFA recommends departments and search committees become familiar with these processes and refer back to this page frequently as forms, processes, and documentation requirements may change.

Academic tracks for clinical/medical faculty include (Research), Teaching Scholar Track, Research Scholar Track, and Pre-Track whereas Biology department academic faculty are (Research).

Searches

Brown requires an open search to fill most academic faculty positions. In order to attract a diverse pool of the highest quality candidates, searches should be nationally advertised and all searches must include a Diversity Representative who will take an active role in identifying women and minority candidates who qualify for the position.

The Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) can suggest ways to expand applicant pools. All open searches are posted on the New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium and Interfolio

There are several steps to completing a search. Department representatives and search committees should review this information carefully to ensure each step is followed in the correct timeline. 

Pre-selects

On the rare occasion that a position must be filled faster than can be done through a search, departments can recruit academic faculty through the Pre-select process. These candidates are typically at the top of their field and need to be recruited quickly to either fill an immediate need of a recently vacated position or can assist the University in achieving its diversity goals.

While this process is faster than a search, it still requires several weeks of document gathering, document and candidate review, and appointment generation. Please plan accordingly.

These positions can be appointed without a search or pre-select request. Department administrators can submit these requests through their department's portal on the BMFA Actions site.

Both Biology and Clinical/Medical departments can appoint candidates to affiliate and adjunct positions without a search or pre-select request.

Biology departments can submit their adjunct and affiliate appointments via email to BMFA@brown.edu.

Clinical/Medical departments can submit their adjunct and affiliate appointments through their department's portal on the BMFA Actions site.

Searches and Pre-select Requests

Each step of a search and pre-select request is reviewed by the appropriate Senior Associate Dean and OIED.

BMFA's review cycle typically begins Wednesday morning of each week with priority given to new appointments, searches, and pre-selects. Please have complete request packets submitted to our office by noon on Tuesdays to ensure inclusion in that week's review cycle. 

Appointments

Adjunct, affiliate, clinical, and clinician educator appointments are processed alongside the review of the BMFA appointment letter allowing for a quick turnaround of 1-2+ weeks, depending on the time of year.

Salary

If the position will be funded by Brown University, a salary review will be conducted by BMFA and BioMed Finance, Planning, and Analytics to ensure salary equity across like-titles, tracks, and experience. Salary reviews can add additional time to generating the appointment request, so please plan accordingly.

Hiring International Scholars: J-1 and H-1B Visa Holders

BioMed Faculty Administration works in conjunction with departments and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISSS) to sponsor affiliates for H-1B or J-1 Visas. Departments are required to provide the necessary visa paperwork to BMFA as part of the original appointment or reappointment packet to ensure the appropriate faculty action documentation is provided for the visa application. 

Department administrators should follow OISSS instructions to secure a visa for affiliates in their department.

Visa Resources

Title Naming Conventions

All Departments

Biology Departments

Clinical Departments

Required Materials

  • Visa-related documents
    • J-1 Visa application materials are required with the reappointment packet
    • H-1B Visa application materials can be submitted to BMFA after OISSS accepts them; please communicate with BMFA that the reappointment or appointment is H-1B-related so we can ensure the correct letter is provided for the application and visiting scholar. 
  • Appointment documents
  • Search or Preselect documents (if applicable)

Submit Visa-Related Faculty Actions or Questions

Pre-select Appointments

Pre-select appointments can be made to fill the unexpected departure of faculty, an urgent clinical need, or to develop a new program. In only rare cases will a Tenure Track faculty appointment be approved via the pre-select appointment process.

Pre-select Appointment Process

Pre-select appointment requests are completed in two steps.

The first step is a preliminary review which requires little documentation and can save the department time gathering the entire appointment packet in the event the pre-select request is not approved. Once approved, the department can move to step two which requires the submission of several supporting documents necessary to generate the appointment letter and enter the request into the system.

Tip: If the department already has the entire packet of required materials requested in steps one and two, they can submit the entire packet while still at step one.

Submit to BMFA:

  1. A signed pre-select form
    • (Research) track pre-select appointments in Clinical departments do not require the pre-select request form.
  2. A signed Faculty Position Authorization form
    • Contact information with phone

    • Appointment terms – date of hire, renewable? 10 or 12-month term 

    • Position title and faculty rank

    • Institution that is hiring

    • Funding sources

    • Job description with requirements listed

    • Exact salary

    • Must be signed by Department Chair, CEO, and Division Director/Chief (if applicable)

  3. The candidate's CV

BMFA will route the pre-select request through the weekly review cycle as follows:

  • Salary Review (if applicable)
  • Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs / Senior Associate Dean of Biology
  • Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences
  • Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity

Submit a Pre-select Appointment Request

Upon receiving all requisite approvals, BMFA will contact you via email for the following documentation:

Step

Description

Documents Required

Chair Letter

  1. Justification for hire

  2. Appointment title, rank, and track

  3. Effective dates (Start and End)

  4. Funding source(s)

 

Chief Letter (if applicable)

  • Justification for the hire
 

Hospital Support Letter

(Clinical departments only)

  1. Must have name, rank, and effective dates of appointment.

  2. (Research) must state "contingent upon the availability of external funding."

Sample Hospital Support Letter

Job Description

(Not required for (Research) faculty)

  1. Administrative duties

  2. Clinical duties

  3. Teaching duties

  4. Research duties and % of protected time

Sample Job Description

CV

  1. In Brown format

  2. DOB and gender on a separate page

CV Format

Letters of Recommendation

  • Three (3) letters required for Instructor/Assistant Professor level - can be from within Brown

  • If senior level, the candidate must be reviewed by the Committee on Medical Faculty Appointments (CMFA)

 

Faculty Recruitment Information Form

(If applicable)

  • Required for all Biology faculty pre-selects

  • Required for Clinical faculty pre-selects who have an existing research program or will have a research program as a part of their affiliation which will take place within the Brown research portfolio*

*Please see the description here

Faculty Recruitment Information Form

Visa Paperwork

(If applicable)

BMFA provides an additional letter to the department that will accompany the visa application materials once they are prepared and submitted to OISSS for review and processing.

  • Visa-related documents
    • J-1 Visa application materials are required with the appointment packet
    • H-1B Visa application materials can be submitted to BMFA after OISSS accepts them; please communicate with BMFA that the appointment is H-1B-related so we can ensure the correct letter is provided for the application and candidate. 
  • Additional information is provided above under "Hiring International Scholars."
 

 

Submit a Pre-select Appointment Packet

Searches

Steps for Completing a Search

Departments and search committees must follow the appropriate process timeline when conducting a search.

  1. Opening a Search
    • Search Authorization request
  2. Interviewing Candidates from a Search
    • Interim Pool Report
  3. Closing a Search/Hiring a Candidate
    1. Compliance Report
    2. Appointment Packet

Each step must be approved before the search committee can proceed to the next step, however, departments can begin gathering the required appointment materials once they have determined a candidate they would like to hire based on the Compliance Report.

All search-related materials must be emailed to BMFA.

Submit Search Documents

Opening a Search Process

  1. Collect the Search Authorization Request packet documents listed in the table below.
  2. Email the complete packet to BMFA via email at BMFAsearches@brown.edu.
    • Please email the documents as a single PDF (not a Portfolio).
    • BMFA will assign an FPA Number to the search request to be used as a reference number when discussing the search request moving forward.
  3. BMFA will run the Search Authorization Request through a review cycle:
    • Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs /Senior Associate Dean of Biology
    • Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences
    • Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED) (note that OIED approvals can take up to 2 weeks, so please plan accordingly)
  4. BMFA will email the Department Administrator as soon as the search authorization has been approved
  5. Department Administrator builds the position in Interfolio and emails BMFASearches@brown.edu once complete.
    • Strongly Recommended: Add the FPA Number to the title of the position when building the position in Interfolio. This will make it much easier to find the position when searching for it in Interfolio in the future.
  6. BMFA will email the search committee members an invitation to the search committee and cc the Department Administrator.
  7. The search is now open and candidates may submit their applications online.

Required Search Authorization Request Packet Materials

Documents Required

Description

Forms and Documents

Chair Letter

  • Justification for the search

 

Faculty Position Authorization (FPA)

  1. Contact info with phone

  2. Appointment terms – date of hire, renewable? 10 or 12-month term 

  3. Position title and faculty rank

  4. The institution that is hiring

  5. Funding sources

  6. Job description and requirements listed

  7. Salary range

  8. Must be signed by Department Chair, CEO, and Division Director/Chief (if applicable)

Faculty Position Authorization Form

Search Support Letter (for Clinical Departments only)

  • (Research) must state contingent upon the availability of external funding

Sample Search Support Letter

Job Description (for Clinical Departments only)

  1. Administrative duties

  2. Clinical duties

  3. Teaching duties

  4. Research duties and % of protected time

Sample Job Description

 

Search Plan

  1. Journals listed (“2 of the following…”)

  2. Protected groups listed

  3. Search Committee

    • Must include: full names, ranks, institutions, email addresses

    • Must designate a Committee Chair and Diversity Representative

    • Search Committee must include at least 20% female representation

    • Search Committees are typically comprised of 5-6 members.

Sample Search Plan

Advertisement

  1. “XXX is an EEO/AA employer …”

  2. Interfolio link

  3. If senior level: “must have national reputation and scholarly achievements”

Sample Advertisement

Recruitment Letter

  1. “XXX is an EEO/AA employer …”

  2. Interfolio link

  3. If senior level: “must have national reputation and scholarly achievements”

Sample Recruitment Letter

 

Submit a Search Authorization Request

The Interim Pool Report must be submitted before the department and search committee wishes to begin scheduling interviews and must be approved before any interviews are scheduled.

The report will be reviewed by the relevant Senior Associate Dean and the Vice President for Institutional Diversity. BMFA will notify the appropriate Department Administrator as soon as the Interim Pool Report is approved.

When to Complete the Form

  • When the search committee has identified which candidates they would like to invite to interview and before the interview invitations are sent out. 
  • This report must be approved before interviews can commence.

Who Should Complete the Form

  • Search Committee Chair, Department Chair, or department managers with help from the Diversity Representative.
  • To complete the Interim Pool Report, download the candidate demographics form from Interfolio. This will assist you with completing the first section of the report.

Information for Interviewing Candidates

Below is information for departments on how to evaluate candidates you wish to interview.

After First Interviews

  • Search Committee Chair or Department Chair will send all completed forms to the Department Manager within one week.

Actions Before the Second Interview

  • Once the department manager is made aware of who will be invited for a second interview, the completed faculty recruitment information form for that subset of candidates will be reviewed and:
    1. Used to assess who needs to be included in the second interview schedule (i.e Facilities, ACF, etc.)
    2. Routed to those appropriate parties prior to the scheduled second interview.
  • Please rout the completed faculty recruitment form for the final candidate to BMFA 

Submit an Interim Pool Report

 

Once a candidate has been identified, please submit the required documentation listed in the table below in a single PDF (not an Adobe Portfolio) to BMFA.

BMFA will route required approvals as follows:

  • Salary Review (if applicable)
  • Relevant Senior Associate Dean
  • Executive Dean for Administration (Biology only)
  • Vice President of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion (Note that OIED approvals can take up to 2 weeks, so please plan accordingly)

Once the final candidate has been approved the search can then be closed in Interfolio. BMFA will email the appropriate Department Administrator with additional instructions for closing the search in Interfolio. 

Documents Required

Description

Forms and Documents

Chair Letter

  1. Justification for the hire

  2. Appointment rank, title, and track

  3. Start and end dates of appointment

  4. Funding sources

 

Chief Letter (if applicable) - Clinical Departments

  • Justification for the hire

 

Hospital Support Letter

(Clinical Departments, if applicable)

  1. Must have the candidate's full name and the requested title and rank

  2. Start and end dates of appointment

  3. (Research) must state "contingent upon the availability of external funding."

  4. Signed by the hospital CEO, on hospital letterhead

Sample Hospital Support Letter

Compliance Report

  1. Must list a salary range or estimate

  2. Must be signed by Department Chair

  3. Must include approximate start date

Compliance Report

CV

  1. Ideally, in Brown format

  2. Dated with pages numbered

    • The CV should be up to date and accurately reflect the candidate's most recent experience, education, and publications.

CV Format

Demographics
  1. Candidate's DOB
  2. Candidate's gender

This information is only used for creating the candidate's profile in Workday and is not used as a determining factor of the candidate's eligibility for the appointment.

 

Letters of Recommendation

  • Three (3) letters required for Instructor/Assistant Professor level - can be from within Brown

  • If senior level, the candidate must be reviewed by the Committee on Medical Faculty Appointments (CMFA)

 

Faculty Recruitment Information Form

(If applicable)

  • Required for all Biology faculty
  • Required for Clinical faculty who have an existing research program or will have a research program as a part of their affiliation, which will take place within the Brown research portfolio.

Faculty Recruitment Information Form

Visa Paperwork

(If applicable)

BMFA provides an additional letter to the department that will accompany the visa application materials once they are prepared and submitted to OISSS for review and processing.

  • Visa-related documents
    • J-1 Visa application materials are required with the appointment packet
    • H-1B Visa application materials can be submitted to BMFA after OISSS accepts them; please communicate with BMFA that the appointment is H-1B-related so we can ensure the correct letter is provided for the application and candidate. 
  • Additional information is provided above under "Hiring International Scholars."

H1-B Visa

J-1 Visa, Hospital Based

J-1 Visa, Brown Based

Search Committee Resources

Each search committee is required to have a Diversity Representative (DR) who cannot also chair the search committee. The DR must be a member of the faculty and is expected to take an active role in identifying women and minorities who qualify for the position. The DR is also charged with ensuring compliance with affirmative action guidelines in all phases of the search and with writing the portion of the Interim Pool Report that addresses the women and minority applicants. During the search, the DR should act as an advocate for candidates from Protected Groups who are being considered for elimination from the pool.

It is the responsibility of the DR to ensure that the search committee fully understands and addresses potential implicit biases. Each member is required to review the AAMC E-Learning Seminar: What You Don't Know: The Science of Unconscious Bias and What To Do About it in the Search and Recruitment Process on the AAMC website.

The DR should contact the Vice President for Institutional Equity and Diversity to discuss the search process and deliberations regarding the Interim Pool Report, especially with respect to considering diverse candidates in the pool, prior to the Interim Pool Report being submitted to BioMed Faculty Administration (BMFA).

Further information can also be found on The Office of Belonging, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (OBEDI) website. This office coordinates the recruitment efforts of those who are underrepresented in medicine and biology. OBEDI is a dynamic resource offering academic, professional, and personal support programs to students, faculty, and staff.  

Below is a list of organizations and programs related to protected groups to assist in the recruitment process.   

Campus Resources

Joseph Diaz, MD, MPH
Associate Dean for Diversity and
Multicultural Affairs
Warren Alpert Medical School
https://diversity.med.brown.edu/
Box G-M247
Providence, RI 02912
Phone 401-863-5685
joseph_diaz@brown.edu

Katherine Sharkey, MD, PhD
Assistant Dean for Women in Medicine and Science
Office of Women in Medicine and Science
https://owims.biomed.brown.edu/
Division of Biology and Medicine
Box G-R240
Providence, RI 02912
401-421-9440
katherine_sharkey@brown.edu

The Leadership Alliance
Brown University
Box 1963
Providence, RI 02912
Phone 401-863-9892

National Professional Organizations

American Association for University Women
Human Resources Director
1111 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

American Medical Women's Association
1100 E. Woodfield Rd. Suite 350 
Schaumburg, IL 60173

Association for Women in Science (AWIS)
1321 Duke Street, Suite 210
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone 703-894-4490

National Medical Association (NMA)
8403 Colesville Road, Suite 920
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone 202-347-1895

Association of Indian Physicians
225 Sovereign Row, Suite 103
Oklahoma City, OK 07318

National Council of Asian and Pacific Islander Physicians
1322 18th Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Phone 202-223-1627

AAMC Career Connect for Employers
655 K Street, NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC, 20001-2399

Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Roster System
2450 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202-828-0400

National Hispanic Medical Association
1920 L St NW #725
Washington, DC 20036

College of Medicine Howard University
Seeley G. Mudd Building, Room 512
520 W Street, NW
Washington, DC 20059
Phone 202-806-6270

Morehouse School of Medicine
720 Westview Drive, SW
Atlanta, GA 30310-1495
Phone 404-752-1500

Meharry Medical College
1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd.
Nashville, Tennessee 37208
Phone 615-327-6000

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)
P.O. Box 8526 
Santa Cruz, CA 95061

 

Interfolio

What is Interfolio?

Faculty searches are a balancing act for institutions. Interfolio designed Faculty Search to facilitate an easier and more transparent search process for everyone from committee members to administrators, diversity officers to the applicants themselves. This online applicant tracking and recruitment system allows you to collect, view and discuss application materials securely.

Please contact BioMed Faculty Administration at BMFAsearches@brown.edu for information on how to set up an Interfolio account. 

Start by selecting "Add a Position."  As you work your way through the position creation process, consult the Interfolio help page if you have any problems. For further assistance, please contact Interfolio's help center at (877) 997-8807 or help@interfolio.com.

There are four different types of users in ByCommittee Faculty Search: Administrators, Committee Managers, Evaluators, and EEO Officers. A user's role determines their capabilities in the program.

Evaluators are the ByCommittee users with the least access in the system. As members of a review committee, their role is generally limited to reviewing applicants and comes with no administrative capabilities. Evaluators can view applications, add tags to applicants, and—if given access—rate and comment on applications. All Evaluators are assigned to one or more search committees by an Administrator or Committee Manager.

Committee Managers supervise searches at the department level, therefore they have some administrative privileges. Committee Managers can edit settings and statuses, view reports, communicate with applicants, and evaluate applications.

Administrators have the most capabilities in ByCommittee Faculty Search, but their role is still limited by the organizational level to which they are attached. If a user is an Administrator on the college level, for instance, they can create, manage, and monitor searches at that college—the same goes for Administrators at a department. Institutional Administrators can control settings and view positions, applications, and reports across an entire institution.

The fourth category of user in ByCommittee Faculty Search is an EEO Officers. Generally, EEO Officers are staff from Human Resources, Institutional Diversity, or another campus office who are responsible for EEO standards and practices at your institution. EEO officers monitor and run EEO reports on open positions to which they have access. They also flag positions that may not meet an institution's diversity requirements.

In some cases, Administrators may also be granted EEO access, which allows them to perform some duties of an EEO Officer, such as viewing EEO reports and flagging positions.

Search Committee Evaluators

  • Evaluators are assigned to one or more search committees by a Committee Manager or Administrator
  • Evaluators can view, add tags, and—if this feature is activated—rate and comment on applications  

Committee Managers

  • Committee Managers supervise searches at the departmental level
  • Committee Managers can edit settings and statuses, view reports, communicate with candidates, and evaluate applications

Administrators

  • Administrators create, manage, and monitor searches at the organizational level to which they have access
  • Institutional Administrators can control settings and view positions, applications, and reports across an entire institution. Departmental Administrators perform similar functions at the level of a department, school, or college within a larger institutional system
  • Administrators may also be granted EEO access, which allows them to perform some duties of an EEO Officer such as viewing EEO reports and flagging positions

EEO Officers

  • Equal Employment Opportunity Officers are generally staff from Human Resources, Institutional Diversity, or another campus office responsible for EEO standards and practices
  • EEO officers monitor and run EEO reporting on open positions to which they have access. They also flag positions that may not meet an institution's diversity requirements

Welcome to ByCommittee Faculty Search! ByCommittee allows you to both collect applicant materials and make collaborative, committee-based decisions with your colleagues, all in one secure and easy location. You can easily adapt your existing hiring process into ByCommittee Faculty Search to make the experience more efficient and paperless for yourself, your colleagues, and your applicants.

As a Committee Manager, you have many more responsibilities and privileges in the product than the average committee member; at the same time, you are slightly limited within your organization when it comes to certain aspects of the product, such as creating institutional settings. The following articles will assist you in your role by showing how you cover every step of your workflow in ByCommittee, from creating a search committee, to creating and managing a new position, and communicating with your applicants. And remember: every action within ByCommittee Faculty Search is documented with a step-by-step guide in our online help center.

Useful Articles for Getting Started

Basics

Creating a Search Committee

Creating Positions

Managing Positions

Statuses

Managing Applications

Communicating

When a letter for recommendation is requested from you, you will receive an email notifying you of the request. It is no longer necessary to have a Letter Writer account to upload letters of recommendation to Interfolio, though you may choose to create an account to organize, store, and send all of your recommendation and evaluation requests.

Note: Often, letters of recommendation must be signed. Please check to make sure your letter is signed if the requester has indicated that a signature is required. You can choose to sign and scan your letter, or use our digital signature tool to create and add a digital signature to your document before uploading it.

The first stop for questions about Interfolio is the Interfolio help page.  If you are still having trouble setting up your search or viewing applications, please contact BioMed Faculty Administration.

A few things to be careful of as you work through the process:

  • Remember that comments made on a computerized system are on the record forever; while the administration will not read your comments, they are nonetheless a permanent record of search practices.
  • It is worth reminding search committee members that they can view application materials online by selecting any relevant applicants and clicking the "read" button.  This will reduce the number of sensitive documents downloaded to faculty computers.
  • You are requested to regularly update applicants' statuses.  These can be set so that applicants are not aware of status changes, but a log of status changes is an important part of Brown's federal diversity reporting requirements.

Note: Faculty have to sign in with the email address that they were added as users with. For example, if you set up a new user and use their hospital address, they will need to sign in to Faculty Search using their hospital email address.

Interfolio FAQs

There are a number of ways to proceed with open-rank searches. The easiest is to clearly identify how to apply as a junior and a senior candidate in the "application instructions" section of your landing page, including specific instructions that junior rank candidates should submit three letters of reference and senior candidates should submit a list of five referees.  

When you choose your required documents, do not make letters of reference required. Instead, ask candidates to use the "additional documents" fields to upload their confidential letters or their list of referees as appropriate. 

You can also make three letters required, then manually change all senior candidates' files to "completed" once they have provided everything except letters of recommendation.

All staff should be assigned a "committee manager" role.  Faculty should be assigned either an "evaluator" role or a "committee manager role."  The committee manager will have a more complicated interface and some abilities irrelevant to faculty members, but will also be able to send bulk messages and run reports, which some faculty members may wish to do.  If you would like to control permissions so that the search committee chair has additional access to comments and evaluations, use the "set evaluators" section of the setup page.

You should be able to add any Brown faculty members to your search committee as evaluators, regardless of their home department.

BioMed Faculty Administration and the Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Development and Diversity are committed to maintaining the autonomy and confidentiality that departments currently expect during the search process.

Both offices have agreed that they will not read the comments or the rankings that evaluators attach to applications, that rankings and comments will be treated as confidential departmental discussions, and that the administration will not use these the rankings or comments in any way during the search process. 

Yes, but they can now be filed electronically and uploaded to your Interfolio search. Just edit your search and choose the "internal notes" section.  Hit "edit," then "add attachment."  When they are uploaded, email BMFAsearches@brown.edu to let us know that they are ready for review.