Affirmative Action, in the state of Connecticut, is applied at the recruiting phase requiring good faith effort in informing qualified applicants of job openings and attracting qualified applicants from under-represented populations as defined by the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CCHRO).

Affirmative Action in the search process demands that aggressive, proactive, extensive and exhaustive efforts are undertaken to include members of under-represented groups throughout the search process.

Applicant evaluations must be based on qualifications. You must select the most qualified applicant without regard to race, gender, or any other protected class status. No courtesy interviews or favorable treatment permitted for friends, family, business associates, etc.

Confidentiality regarding the candidates and the committee's deliberations must be maintained throughout the search. An applicant has the right to review his or her own application file and/or materials. A breach of confidentiality may damage a candidate's career or candidacy and the integrity of the search process.

Communications about the search in response to questions from the media, University of Connecticut (University) community, and all others not involved in the search process should be handled by the Search Committee Chair or hiring administrator. General information about the status of the search process or about the candidate pool as a whole; or, after the search has been concluded, about the specific qualifications of the successful candidate may be disclosed. Departmental search-related materials and records should not be shared with candidates, advocates, news media, or litigants and their representatives. Requests from these sources should be forwarded the University's Privacy Officer, Attorney Rachel Krinsky Rudnick of the Office of Audit, Compliance & Ethics immediately for advice before turning over any documents. Attorney Rudnick may be reached at (860) 486-5256.

Hiring/Promotion Goals (under utilization of a population in a work force, occupational category or job title) is determined by comparing race and gender distribution of each occupational category in the University's full-time, permanent workforce to available applicant pools, in accordance with formulae promulgated by CCHRO.

Prior to advertising, departments should determine whether opportunities exist in the interview group to satisfy the University's Hiring/Promotion goals. University policies require departments to Cast a Broad Net through non-traditional, proactive, aggressive, exhaustive recruiting designed to widely publicize the position to all qualified applicants, including those from underutilized applicant pools, also referred to as under-represented, goal applicant pools, or hiring/promotion goals.