Insights
Academic Search: Creating an Inclusive Environment for New Leaders
Onboarding is a critical time: candidates of diverse identities that an institution has worked hard to recruit and hire will first intersect with the existing culture on campus and in the surrounding community.
If there is a disconnect between the new leaders’ prior experiences and the realities of institutional culture, policies, and procedures, additional challenges will emerge and complicate those traditionally encountered during leadership transitions. Such challenges are heightened if new leaders feel they are represented neither internally within the college community nor in the broader external community.
Academic Search released a whitepaper ensuring that search committees and hiring authorities keep diversity, equity, and inclusion at the forefront of any transition and onboarding plan.
"A successful search does not end at the identification, selection, and announcement of the appointee; developing and implementing a well-structured transition and onboarding plan is imperative to ensuring a smooth, successful change of leadership".