In early November my esteemed colleague Dan Goldstick wrote about the difficulties of measuring academic excellence. I heartily agree with him. But then it is still important to try. Let's talk about searching for candidates. Last year our university embarked on new hiring.
Searches are on again.
We hear about Jackman chairs and appointments of opportunity. It would appear that some very good people are or should be joining our faculty. Search committees continue to operate by what appears to be random judgements. Rather, whoever speaks the loudest is heard in committee and whoever spins the best tale becomes the more popular candidate. Here I remember my own sister once advising me not to publish too much before tenure because I could be judged by a committee whose members may have published less.