News from the HR department
Richmond joins recruitment consortium

The University of Richmond has joined with Loyola College in Maryland to launch the Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Recruitment consortium (Mid-Atlantic HERC), a partnership among 19 leading higher education and research institutions in the region.

The partnership’s first product, a comprehensive, easily accessible job bank featuring faculty, staff and administrative postings at institutions in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., is available at www.midatlanticherc.org. This initiative joins partnerships in 10 other regions throughout the country, all of which are part of the national Higher Education Recruitment Consortium network.

The Mid-Atlantic HERC is headquartered at Loyola, which is sharing leadership of the project with Richmond, Washington and Lee University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Mid-Atlantic HERC, like its counterparts in other regions, aims to develop and promote a collaborative employment network for open faculty, administrative and staff positions at member institutions and share best practices for addressing recruitment and retention issues.

The centrality of job postings and regional resources, as well as the site’s ability to accommodate dual-career searches, distinguishes it from other employment Web sites. Dual-career searches are particularly relevant in higher education and research centers, as research indicated that more than 35 percent of male faculty and 40 percent of female faculty have spouses and partners who also are faculty members.

“Our region is rich in the depth and breadth of its academic institutions, but until now, we haven’t had a way to consolidate information on open positions,” says Loyola President Brian Linnane. “The Mid-Atlantic HERC will provide all of our member institutions with a valuable tool for recruiting and retaining talented faculty and other employees, and will offer those individuals a wealth of information on the opportunities available to them in our region.”

In addition to Loyola, Richmond, W&L and NIH, Mid-Atlantic HERC members include: University of Baltimore, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Maryland at Baltimore, Hood College, Towson University, Goucher College, College of Notre Dame, Maryland Institute College of Art, Morgan State University, University of Virginia, George Mason University, Stevenson University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Community College of Baltimore County and Center for Biologics and Research, Food and Drug Administration.

“We are excited to be part of the consortium. The HERC is a powerful resource that will help us promote UR job opportunities at the national level,” says Carl Sorensen, associate vice president for human resource services.

For more information on the consortium and how it might help you identify candidates, contact Kim Wilson, director of HR consulting and recruiting at kwilson@richmond.edu or 289-8957.

Mid-Atlantic HERC FAQS

Q. What is Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) and why did it get started?
A. To put it simply, HERC is all about jobs and lots of them. Despite the impact of state budgets on higher education, HERC member campuses must continue to meet the needs of educating our young people, advancing our society through scientific and technological innovation, developing responses to social problems in a rapidly changing world, and encouraging artistic expression and appreciation. To do this, we must continue to hire essential faculty, administrators and staff to fulfill our academic mission. The Mid-Atlantic HERC’s member campuses represent the entire spectrum of higher education and come from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Q. Who benefits from HERC?
A. Job seekers benefit by having access to Mid-Atlantic region higher education jobs all in one place. By using the e-mail alert feature, they can create a profile and let jobs come to them. This is a tremendous advance for people interested in seeking a career in higher education. Before the HERC site was launched, jobseekers would have to keep track of 19 different job sites at individual campuses to stay abreast of opportunities.

Participating campuses benefit by increasing our outreach to qualified job seekers and drawing a more diverse applicant pool. Members also benefit by meeting regularly to share information and resources about recruiting best practices. Additionally, HERC campuses have a particular interest in helping the spouses and partners of our faculty and staff find employment in the area, where it often takes a dual income to afford our high cost of living.

Q. Does it cost anything to participate   in HERC?
A. Job seekers have free access to the HERC Web site www.midatlanticherc.org and to all the Web site features, including the “myjobs” area that automatically sends e-mail alerts to users when jobs are posted that meet their profile. Participating campuses pay annual membership fees that support the operations of the consortium and Web site.

Q. What kinds of jobs can I find on the HERC Web site?
A. Higher education is a microcosm of the overall job market. Jobseekers may not realize that opportunities exist in a multitude of career fields. Here is just a sampling of the wide-ranging positions that can be found through a quick search on the HERC Web site: instructor/professor (in wide range of fields from anthropology to zoology), nurse, researcher, dean, curator, librarian, vice president, custodian, psychologist, human resource manager, development director, financial analyst, child care attendant, physician, information technology director, engineer, accountant, athletic coach, physical therapist, mechanic, chemist, medical assistant, and Web developer.

HERC campuses seek a diverse, qualified pool of applicants for faculty, staff, administrative, and executive positions and encourage job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic region to become familiar with the job opportunities in higher education.

Q. How many jobs does the HERC Web site have posted?
A. At the time of launch on Oct. 1, 2008, there were well over 600 faculty, staff, administrative and executive jobs posted on the site.