ATHENA Toolkit for Strategies & Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity & Excellence (STRIDE)

STRIDE Training Workshops for faculty search committees will be offered by the Office of Faculty Affairs. The STRIDE Toolkit is being disseminated to benefit the NSF ADVANCE community for fair use. The ATHENA NSF ADVANCE STRIDE toolkit consists of tips and resources to enhance search committee effectiveness towards ensuring improved diversity of faculty candidate pools and hires. This kit is being disseminated for use and adaptation by other projects and institutions. We recommend citing it as: ATHENA NSF ADVANCE Adaptation project, ATHENA NSF ADVANCE STRIDE Toolkit, 2024, University of Louisville, https://louisville.edu/advance/.

Please note that STRIDE training has been transferred to the oversight of Faculty Affairs. For further details or inquiries, please contact whitney.sweeney-martin@louisville.edu.

ATHENA STRIDE Toolkit
STRIDE Handbook

STRIDE Handbook

This STRIDE (Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence) handbook was developed to provide search committees with strategies aimed at increasing their likelihood of identifying, recruiting and hiring high-quality faculty while simultaneously embracing the University values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in faculty ranks. While search committees typically receive limited training in recruiting practices, research5 indicates that the success of faculty searches are improved through the education of search committee members. Thorough and structured training about how to ask for and obtain information that is relevant to the designated job is known to improve the decisions of search committees. The strategies presented in this handbook are based on recent research and successful STRIDE programs from several NSF ADVANCE institutions, together with materials on faculty recruitment from the Office of the Executive Vice President and University Provost. The STRIDE Committee plans to improve and refine these strategies in subsequent years to support faculty searches across disciplines and departments. Overall, the STRIDE Handbook represents the best practices for faculty search committees and is aligned with University, State, and Federal policies regarding non-discrimination.
STRIDE Rubric

STRIDE Rubric

The Search Committee should allocate at least one meeting to complete the Rubric & Weights in Ranking matrix, Diversity Statement, and other necessary documentation before posting the advertisement. The advertisement should explicitly outline the criteria, including the Diversity Statement.

1. For each applicant you must:

  • Take sufficient time for EACH applicant's CV
  • Read applicant’s cover letter
  • Read applicant’s CV
  • Read applicant’s statements (re research, teaching, and diversity)

2. Fill out the Applicant Data Tab in this file

3. Complete the Applicant Ranking Matrix in Tab in this file

4. Sort applicants by Score (High to Low) if you absolutely have to rank although ranking is not a best practice!
Top 10 Best Practices

Top 10 Best Practices

The ATHENA STRIDE Search Committee Training: TOP 10 BEST PRACTICES provides a cheat sheet or quick overview of guidelines with reference to the STRIDE Handbook sections for more detail.
DATA Collection Form Faculty Search STRIDE Debriefing DATA Collection Form
Intake Form STRIDE Intake Form
More Resources Equitable Faculty Search Information From the Office of the Provost