Earlier this month, we were graciously invited to attend the 6th annual New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium’s (HERC) Diversity Conference at Wheelock College in Boston.
The event brought together HERC members, special guests, vendors, and volunteers from across the region to discuss the benefits of diversity within Higher Ed and to celebrate New England HERC’s 10 year anniversary. We, at Optimal Partners, are committed to promoting diversity in university technology and are honored to have been a part of a conference covering such an important issue.
This year’s Diversity Conference consisted of presentations and roundtable discussions on diversity and recruiting in Higher Education. Dr. Christopher Lee, author of “Search Committees: A Comprehensive Guide to Successful Faculty, Staff, and Administrative Searches,” started the morning off with a discussion on how to recruit the most talented individuals. The workshop, titled “Building a Professional and Successful Search Process,” presented a thorough model for how to create and maintain effective search committees. His second workshop, titled “Proven Diversity Selection Techniques: Move from Good Intentions to Good Practices,” covered the numerous benefits of diversity to Higher Education, as well as how universities can promote diversity through effective recruiting strategies.
After lunch, the conference attendees were split into four roundtable sessions, each led by a facilitator, to discuss a variety of related topics. The session titled “Faculty Recruitment and Development” focused on how Higher Ed institutions can attract talented faculty by promoting inclusivity. The “Compliance Considerations in the Search Process” roundtable brought up the various challenges related to compliance in recruiting, as well as best practices for how to stay compliant. “Actualizing Equity in Faculty Searches” discussed actionable strategies for increasing diversity among university faculty. Lastly, the “Reframing the Diversity Conversation” group focused on analyzing research from PeopleAdmin on diversity in Higher Ed and reviewing various diversity initiatives at colleges and universities to identify which strategies were most successful.
To cap off the event, the keynote speaker, Dr. Edna Chun, spoke on the role that department chairs play in the process of making Higher Ed more diverse. As she discussed, chairs not only help influence the culture of their university, but should also have a direct impact on more inclusive recruiting practices. Dr. Chun also explained that diversity among department chairs is an important step towards universities being better equipped to serve an increasingly diverse student base.
It was a pleasure to meet the Director of New England HERC, Ruth Molina; the Coordinator, Noel Bane; and all of the New England HERC members in attendance to discuss how universities and colleges can help promote diversity within Higher Ed. We were happy to join Inside Higher Ed, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, and Boston Spirit, as well as many others, to partner with New England HERC for this event. As a company with a close-knit and diverse staff, we are proud to have attended and hope to continue to work with New England HERC in the near future.
Avoid costly mistakes and wasted time – talk to an impartial peer in Higher Ed!
There is nothing like speaking with a peer who has implemented the same product – send us a request.
You can also provide general feedback, inquire about additional free resources, submit a topic you’d like us to cover, tell us about a feature you’d like to see, or request the best staff for your project.