ADVANCE publishes UNM Faculty Search Resources

advance September 5, 2025

If you’ve ever served on or run a faculty search committee, you know the process has a lot of moving parts. To help, ADVANCE at UNM is partnering with Academic Affairs to support all aspects of faculty searches, including recruitment and hiring. We also collaborate on the required workshops on search best practices.

As part of our commitment to the search process, a member of the ADVANCE Leadership Team is happy to have a 30-minute confidential meeting with faculty candidates to broadly discuss faculty support resources and to answer their questions. Contact advance@unm.edu with questions or to request that we meet with candidates as part of on-campus interviews.

UPCOMING WORKSHOP INFORMATION

Faculty search workshops are required for all department chairs, faculty search committee chairs, faculty search committee members, and search coordinators who are participating in faculty searches. Use the ADVANCE events calendar to learn about upcoming faculty search workshops.

UNM Faculty search resources

11/10/25 update on H-1B visa sponsorships
Dear Colleagues,

Following up on our September 21 message about the presidential proclamation requiring a $100,000 payment for certain H-1B visa sponsorships, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued updated guidance explaining when this payment applies.

Key Points from USCIS Guidance:

The $100,000 payment does NOT apply when an employer files an H-1B petition for:

A change of status within the U.S.

A change of employer within the U.S.

This means employers seeking to sponsor current or prospective employees who are already in the U.S. who are changing employers or to H-1B status can file without submitting this payment.

However, if an employee or candidate travels internationally before their H-1B change of status or change of employer is approved, they could become subject to the payment. Anyone in this situation should consult their department and immigration counsel before making travel plans.

The $100,000 payment does apply for new H-1B petitions for individuals outside the U.S. who are not currently in another nonimmigrant visa status.

USCIS has said employers can request a ‘national interest’ exception to avoid the payment, but these will be granted only in ‘extraordinarily rare circumstances.’ The process is unclear, likely requires outside immigration counsel, and may involve significant legal costs.

What This Means for Hiring:

Current Searches: If you are considering candidates who need H-1B sponsorship and are outside the U.S. or not in another valid nonimmigrant status, the $100,000 payment may apply. Federal law requires the employer to cover all H-1B costs; these cannot be passed on to the employee. At the University, the department or hiring unit will be responsible for covering these costs. Whether to incur this cost is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory factor in hiring decisions.

Future Searches: Until more information is available, you may want to limit eligibility to candidates already authorized to work in the U.S. or currently in the U.S. with valid status (e.g., permanent residents, individuals on F-1 visas, or those with H-1B status through another employer).

If Sponsorship is Needed: If a candidate requires H-1B sponsorship and the $100,000 payment would apply, consider whether there is a strong business need for that hire. While a waiver may be possible in rare cases, there is no clear guidance on what evidence is required. Departments must consult with the Office of University Counsel and obtain approvals from the dean, Executive Vice President, and the President before proceeding. Again, the department or hiring unit will be responsible for all associated payments.

Departments and hiring officials with immigration-related questions can contact Kevin Gick in the Office of University Counsel at KGick@salud.unm.edu.

Sincerely,

Barbara Rodriguez

Interim Provost & EVP for Academic Affairs

Michael Richards

Executive Vice President, UNM HSC & CEO, UNM Health System
Office for Academic Personnel hiring procedures
Information for Faculty Search Committees

Leadership Roles in the Search Process

Who makes which decisions? This diagram outlines the roles of the hiring official, the hiring officer, search committee chair, and search coordinator.

Search Committee Guidance

This guidance is an an overview of the role of the search committee, reminders about conflict-of-interest, and tips for constructive discussions of applicants.

New Required Preferred Qualification

All searches must include the preferred qualification: “A demonstrated commitment to cultivate an understanding of the rich and varied cultures of New Mexico and the success of the university’s mission to serve local and global communities.”

Committees should discuss the evaluation of this rubric while deciding what application materials will be requested. Applicants should not be asked to provide a separate statement to address this qualification. Options will be discussed during faculty search workshops.

Best Practices for Evaluating Candidates Across Preferred Qualifications

These are the guidelines for keeping the applicant evaluation focused on preferred qualifications and supporting holistic discussion of applicants’ qualifications.

Document Retention and Hiring Justification information

Learn about how long you should keep documents related to your search and the information your committee needs to submit to OAP including the hiring justification memo by accessing this graphic.
Faculty Search Templates

Search Committee Charge

The hiring officer should outline the expectations of the search committee. This template can be modified based on departmental processes and the number of applicants that can be brought to campus as finalists.

Position Analysis Memo (PAM)

Download and modify this template to fit your search parameters. Faculty applicant pools across campus vary dramatically in size, so different processes are needed to evaluate applications. The search committee should be involved in developing minimum and preferred qualifications and discussing how they will be evaluated.

Confidentiality of Applicants

Candidates for faculty positions are confidential, and to be discussed only within the search committee until the semi-finalist or finalist stage, depending on departmental process. The confidentiality applies to internal and external applicants. Department chairs and search committee chairs can use this agreement to remind committee members of this obligation.

Sample Evaluation Rubric and Composite Matrix

The search committee should develop a rubric for the evaluation of minimum and preferred qualifications. The rubrics for evaluation of preferred qualifications should acknowledge that candidates can demonstrate qualifications in a variety of ways. Access our sample rubric.

Applicant evaluations by individual search committee members should be kept in the department, as part of the search records, for 5 years. A composite matrix is submitted with the hiring justification to the School/College leadership but is not submitted to OAP. Access our sample composite matrix.

Finalist Candidate Evaluation Tool

Depending on department process, the search committee or department chair should collect feedback shortly after each candidate visits. This form is one option, which also provides information on what information and experience the evaluator is using in their assessment.