The path to becoming a school principal is characterized by a variety of trajectories that reflect the diverse experiences and backgrounds of aspiring leaders. While ideally the road to the principalship would result in a proportional and representative body of principals, research has shown this is rarely the case. To gain a better understanding…

Social class of origin is apparently an imperceptible attribute among doctorate holders seeking academic jobs. Yet, recent studies in different countries reveal that social class of origin may still be influencing the chances of PhD holders from low social class being hired at prestigious universities. Drawing from the theory of social and…

Studies on academic recruitment processes have demonstrated that universities evaluate candidates for research positions using multiple criteria. However, most studies on preferences regarding evaluative criteria in recruitment processes focus on a single country, while cross-country studies are rare. Additionally, though studies have documented…

American higher education has recently embraced a new tool for advancing its commitment to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI). Many colleges and universities are now engaged in "DEI cluster hiring," a practice which ultimately embodies higher education's turn toward political and social activism. Unfortunately, it has…

In US higher education, faculty members may receive an outside offer of employment from an external organization, and then receive a corresponding counteroffer from their current institution. Counteroffers are written contracts made to individuals -- either prematurely in anticipation of an outside offer, but most often after an outside offer --…

While colleges and universities have been lauded for increasing student diversity, these same institutions have failed to achieve any comparable diversity among their faculty. In 2017, of the nation's full-time, tenure-track and tenured faculty, only 3 percent each were Black men, Black women, Hispanic men, and Hispanic women. Only 6 percent were…

The under-representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been well documented. We discuss an affirmative action recruitment strategy from the University of Melbourne's STEM disciplines where only female applicants were eligible to apply for academic positions. This strategy has been very…

In recent years, university sectors worldwide have undergone intense reforms under the influence of the global ideas of 'new public management' and 'new managerialism'. National policies have widely adopted global scripts with advocacy for strengthening academic leadership as the essential ingredient of successful university transformation.…

This paper aims to draw lessons from existing research on school leader diversity, and to supplement that evidence with new insights from the lived experiences of teachers, aspiring and practicing school leaders of color, and local and state administrators who oversee school leader recruitment and support. These perspectives are elevated to bring…

Faculty recruitment has become a new challenge for public higher education institutions (HEIs) in China since the 1990s. Based on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework, this study analyzed the faculty recruitment preferences and the effects of selected organizational factors on these preferences at top national HEIs from 2002…