Guidelines for Candidate Meetings with Affinity Groups

2025-2026

Our UMBC community supports a range of faculty-led affinity groups dedicated to enhancing the recruitment, visibility, and retention of diverse faculty and staff, as well as providing professional development, mentoring, and support to help them find success at UMBC.

As part of this commitment, each affinity group makes itself available to meet with faculty candidates as part of the recruitment process. Search committees, departments, and academic programs should follow the guidelines below when requesting candidate meetings with affinity groups.

Informing Candidates

  • Invitation: Search committee chairs and/or departments/programs should offer all candidates the opportunity to request a meeting with UMBC affinity groups. When extending the invitation, departments/programs should explain that:
    1. These meetings are informal and voluntary, providing candidates with a chance to learn more about the UMBC community.
    2. Information shared during these informal meetings is confidential and is not considered in the candidate’s interview or evaluation process.

Scheduling a Meeting with Affinity Groups
(For search committee chairs and departments/programs)

  • Advance Notice Requirement: All candidate meeting requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the candidate’s interview date. Because interview schedules are typically confirmed well in advance, departments/programs should plan ahead so we can coordinate requests smoothly.
  • Request Submission: Meeting requests should be submitted using the Affinity Group Meeting Request Form. Please include 2–3 date/time options provided by the candidate for an affinity group meeting outside of the formal interview schedule.
  • Scheduling expectations: Affinity group meetings should only be scheduled outside of the formal interview-day schedule (for example, after the day’s interviews conclude or as a short virtual meeting shortly after the on-campus interview). These meetings should not be scheduled in between interviews. In addition, combined meetings with multiple affinity groups are not recommended.
  • Meeting Options:
    • Virtual Meetings (default): Virtual meetings are strongly encouraged and may be scheduled within three business days after the candidate’s interview. This helps to avoid scheduling conflicts and support timely coordination. The search chair and/or department/program is responsible for submitting the meeting request using the Affinity Group Meeting Request Form
    • In-Person Meetings: In-person meetings may be arranged outside of formal interview schedule and must follow the two-week advance notice requirement. If an in-person meeting is not feasible, the meeting will default to a virtual format.

Questions may be directed to Dr. Walter Parrish (walterp1@umbc.edu) or Amy Heffler (aheffler@umbc.edu) within the Office of Faculty Affairs.