Alisa BueSince the early months of the pandemic, Beloit’s Human Resources Office has brought a designated equity advisor onto every hiring committee for faculty and staff positions at the college. Equity advisors help train the hiring committee in understanding bias and assumptions, serve as an essential pair of eyes in ensuring the diversity of the applicant pool, and guide the methods used in the hiring process from start to finish.

While these tasks are nothing new to Beloit College hiring committees, Employment Specialist Alisa Bue says that creating a specific role to handle them is crucial to the college’s goal of creating a more equitable job search and hiring process for those whose identities are historically underrepresented at the college.

Angi OlesenAngi Olesen, director of the Learning Enrichment and Disability Services (LEADS), serves on many hiring committees and has seen many of her peers step into the role over the last few years. While Olesen acknowledges that there’s always more to be done, she knows the creation of the equity advisor role is a step in the right direction.

Interviewing, hiring, supporting, and retaining more Black faculty and staff is one of six goals established as part of the college’s commitment to anti-racism and equity. In creating a position involved with every aspect of the hiring process — advertising, searching, and interviewing — the college aims to increase the number of candidates — and employees — of color.

“This position really makes sure that we’re being conscious as a community with our anti-racist [efforts],” she says. She describes the role embodying the goals of the Becoming Better initiative within the hiring process, showing candidates that the college promotes equity in all aspects of employment.

The finalist pools for all faculty positions in the 2021-22 academic year had increased numbers of people of color and members of underrepresented groups.

Any faculty or staff member from any department can request to be trained as an equity advisor. Reach out to Alisa Bue for more information.