Hiring & Recruitment: Equal Opportunity Search Information

The Office of Equal Opportunity (EO) works with hiring units to ensure that the university is in compliance with its nondiscrimination and affirmative action obligations.

Recruitment

The way the university recruits for positions is guided by its annual affirmative action plans.  Each year, EO prepares an affirmative action plan for women and minorities.  The development of this plan includes a comparison of the current demographics of job groups within the university to demographic data regarding the theoretically available individuals qualified to work in these job groups.  When the number of women or minorities in the theoretically available pool exceeds those in the university’s workforce, annual hiring goals are established.

In accordance with federal regulations, these annual hiring goals are not hiring quotas nor do they require, or even permit, preferential treatment in the hiring process.  Rather, they require targeted outreach in accordance with the goals established.

Please contact  207.581.1226 for administrators and tenure-track faculty searches and for professional and non-tenure-track faculty searches to determine if there are goals for the search being conducted.  If so, EO can assist you in locating appropriate recruitment resources to meet the university’s affirmative action obligations.

Position Announcement

One requirement for all position announcements is that they contain a notice identifying the University as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.  This statement must read as follows:

In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities.  The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies:  [name(optional), title, address, phone number].

Briefing

For ALL searches, each search committee member must be updated on equal opportunity and affirmative action issues that pertain to the search being conducted.  This meeting must occur before the committee meets to review applications for the position.  The Equal Opportunity Search Committee Briefing can be found on UMS Academy here: Search Committee Briefing. Please note- you must be logged into your MyCampus portal to access the training.

 Complaints/Concerns

If an applicant raises a concern about how they were treated during the application process or the outcome of the search, please call us.

If you have any questions about the  hiring process for administrators and tenure-track faculty or for professional and non-tenure-track faculty, please contact 207.581.1226.