Faculty recruitment initiative focused on inclusive excellence gets a $500K boost

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An initiative that aims to hire faculty members who advance inclusive excellence will further that mission with a one-time $500,000 contribution.

The new funding for the Strategic Priorities Faculty Initiative is being provided by the president's office and will add to the current annual funding of $1 million from the provost's office.

"We're just so excited that the president is really committed to supporting new faculty hires and that the president and the provost truly value faculty contributions to inclusive excellence in all areas of research, teaching and service," said Andrea Romero, vice provost for faculty affairs.

The initiative, known as SPFI, pronounced "spiffy," helps academic units recruit full-time, tenure-track and continuing-track faculty members who incorporate inclusive excellence in their work. That could be research that serves diverse communities or addresses complex global problems, or collaboration with community and business partners, especially those from underserved groups, Romero said.

Since it began in fiscal year 2009, SPFI has become one of the University's most successful initiatives for recruiting and retaining faculty members, Romero said. The University has hired more than 60 faculty members through the SPFI program, and the initiative's retention rate is about 80%, according to a report that the Office of Faculty Affairs released in February.

"The people we've brought in through this program are superstars," Romero said. "They get grants and publications and promotions and awards. They're amazing."

Liesl Folks, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, shared the news about the additional funding last week at a reception for SPFI faculty.

Faculty members hired through SPFI include Russell B. Toomey, professor and chair of the Department of Family Studies and Human Development in the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences and interim director of the Institute for LGBT Studies; Jessica Retis, professor in the School of Journalism; and Marcelo Rodríguez, foreign comparative and international law librarian at the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library in the James E. Rogers College of Law.

The additional $500,000 commitment will allow the University to hire more candidates identified through SPFI, Romero said. The new funding follows a contribution of $175,000 that the president's office made last year. Since SPFI began, about $1 million from the University's budget has been allocated to the fund each year.

"It just provides more flexibility for us to say yes to more applications next year," Romero added. "There are more applications than we can possibly agree to fund, and every candidate that has been put forward so far has been amazing and we would love to hire them."

Last year, 23 applications for SPFI funding were submitted, resulting in 13 hires, 11 of whom began this academic year. The other two are expected to join in August.

The fund covers recruitment efforts, such as campus visits and presentations for prospective faculty hires, Romero said.

"It provides them an opportunity where they may not be hiring that year but say there's somebody amazing who's a great fit for their department, who does inclusive excellence in all these ways. It allows them to bring that person to campus even off cycle," Romero said.

SPFI also covers a portion of the new hires' salaries for three years.

After identifying a candidate to recruit, school directors and department heads can apply for SPFI funding at the end of each month between October and March. A dean's signature is required for all applications. Final decisions are made by Folks after applications are reviewed by a SPFI committee each month.

The fund also supports efforts to build relationships with tribal colleges, women's colleges, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and historically Black colleges and universities before a specific candidate is identified.

Send questions about the fund or the application process to Judy Marquez Kiyama, associate vice provost for faculty development, at jkiyama@arizona.edu.