An important best practice in faculty recruitment is networking with colleagues to broaden your awareness of suitable candidates who can then be invited to apply to future faculty positions. This strategy should be ongoing, but can be more focused when a search is active.
You should contact colleagues at other institutions to seek nominations of students nearing graduation or others interested in moving laterally, making sure to request inclusion of folks who have potential to contribute to Lehigh's Principles of our Equitable Community. Each member of the search committee can deploy this tactic. The Chair of the Search Committee will want to develop a list of the nominees that come in. Without evaluating the nominee at this stage, the Search Committee can then reach out and invite the individual to apply. You can also directly invite prospective applicants, particularly those who may not be familiar with Lehigh, who can likely contribute to the Principles of our Equitable Community, or who may be interested in making a change in institution.
Lehigh ADVANCE office can work with you if you have questions about these sample letters.
To contact your network or mentors of prospective applicants: The sample letter below is suitable for a position at the assistant professor level. It is broad, emphasizes the quality of the candidate and asks for help to increase the overall diversity and representation of the pool.
Dear [Colleague Name Here]:
I wanted to let you know about a tenure-track faculty position that we have open this year at Lehigh for someone in [general discipline area here]. I'm attaching the ad to this email. Would you please pass this on to anyone you know who may be a good candidate for the position? We are interested in identifying students nearing graduation, recent post-docs, or others interested in moving laterally. We are continuously striving to increase the representation of our applicant pool, so if you know of any qualified applicants, please encourage them to apply. I would appreciate it if you could send me their names and contact info so that I could invite them personally to apply as well.
Thanks,
[Search Committee Member Name & Signature]
To directly contact a prospective applicant:
General, and especially suited for early career
Dear [Dr.] [Applicant Last Name]
Your name was recently suggested to us as a strong applicant for our open tenure track assistant professor position in [sub area if helpful/Department] at Lehigh University. We hope you will consider applying for the position. Applications should be submitted through [Mechanism]. More information is available at [Link] and in the attached ad.
If you have questions about the position or department, please reach out to me as the search committee chair ([search chair email]) with any questions about the search.
Thank you for considering our department and best wishes in your job search.
Warm regards,
[Search Chair Name & Signature]
More Specific:
Dear [Dr]. [Applicant Last Name],
I am writing to you today as a faculty member in the Department of [Department Name] at Lehigh University. Our department is currently searching for a new [title/rank] faculty member with expertise in [area].
Your name was recently suggested to us as someone whose work in [mention a specific accomplishment, publication, or area of their research] is highly regarded. Your research on [mention a specific project or topic] aligns well with our department's focus on [mention a specific departmental strength or research area].
We are now accepting applications, and I would like to encourage you to apply. The full job description and application portal can be found at this link: [Insert link to job application page].
If not yet open: We will soon be accepting applications, and I would like to encourage you to apply (point to where they can find the ad- ex: a departmental listing or the Lehigh listing).
Please let me know if you have any questions about the position or our department.
Warm regards,
[Search Chair Name & Signature]
Suitable for a senior faculty position:
Dear [Dr]. [Candidate's Last Name],
I am writing to you today as [a faculty member] in the [Department/Program Name] at Lehigh University. Our department/program is currently conducting a search for a senior faculty member with an established record of excellence in [specific field of expertise, e.g., computational biology, economic policy, modern art history].
Given your distinguished career and significant contributions to the field [of their field], I was encouraged to reach out and personally invite you to consider applying for this position. Your research and leadership in [mention a specific, high-level accomplishment, e.g., developing a new methodology, leading a major research initiative, founding a significant journal] would be a tremendous asset to our department's mission to [mention a departmental goal or strength, e.g., foster interdisciplinary collaboration, expand our graduate program, build a new research center].
The full job description and application portal can be found at this link: [Insert link to job application page].
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions about the position or our department/program.
Warm regards,
[Search Chair Name & Signature]