University asks faculty not to ask questions about HR candidates

Parker Executive Search is probably charging UO $125K or so to run this search. They have a mixed record. For example, from USA Today:

Rutgers’ hiring process for new athletics director Julie Hermann was further scrutinized Wednesday as new details of the selection process emerged.

Rutgers paid $70,000 [to Parker Executive Search] for the background check that failed to uncover the accusations of verbal and emotional abuse from former volleyball players against Hermann, an Asbury Park Press investigation found. Meanwhile, a member of the 26-person selection committee criticized the interview process shortly after co-chairs Richard Edwards and Kate Sweeney emailed support for the appointment to committee members.

Hermann was soon fired, at a cost to Rutgers of $1,658,455.15. From what I can tell they never even got their $70K back from Parker.

So here’s my advice – ignore this no questions policy:

Dear Senators – please see the announcement below from the administration about CHRO interviews. Because the search committee only had one faculty member, plus one OA & SEIU member, this will be one of the few opportunities for input from Senate constituents.

I notice that this announcement states

“Please be reminded that, although we are at a more public stage of the recruitment process, we are asking community members to refrain from reaching out to friends or colleagues who may know of or work with the finalists, either to share or request information regarding their candidacies.”

This ask is a new one to me for an administrative hire, and I suggest you ignore it and reach out to colleagues you might know at these candidates prior institutions. Such information has been very useful in the past, and often brings up issues that search firms have missed or ignored.

Thanks, Bill Harbaugh UO Senate Pres

Email from the administration:

Dear Senators:

As you may be aware, there are five candidates for the chief human resources officer (CHRO) position who have been invited to campus for interviews beginning this Friday. Each candidate will spend one very full day interacting with a variety of UO stakeholders.

Faculty member engagement and input is a crucial part of the recruitment for this key campus leadership position. Below are the sessions that have been designated for meeting with faculty. If you can attend one or all of these sessions, please join us.

Date	Time	Location
Candidate A* Friday, Feb 22	4:00pm-4:30pm	Johnson Hall Conference Room (Room 105)
Candidate B* Monday, Feb 25	11:30am-12:00pm	Susan Campbell Hall, Leona Tyler Conference Room (Room 111A)
Candidate C* Tuesday, Feb 26	4:30pm-5:00pm	Susan Campbell Hall, Leona Tyler Conference Room (Room 111A)
Candidate D* Thursday, Feb 28	9:00am-9:30am	Susan Campbell Hall, Leona Tyler Conference Room (Room 111A)
Candidate E* Friday, Mar 1	9:30am-10:00am	Friendly Hall, CAS Deans Conference Room (Room 109)

*48 hours before each candidate’s visit, their name, résumé, and a feedback survey will be posted online: https://vpfa.uoregon.edu/chief-human-resources-officer-chro-search.

Please be reminded that, although we are at a more public stage of the recruitment process, we are asking community members to refrain from reaching out to friends or colleagues who may know of or work with the finalists, either to share or request information regarding their candidacies. We will conduct a formal referencing process in consultation with Parker Executive Search, a firm hired by UO.

Thank you for your participation in the recruitment process for our next CHRO.