During these days of a hopefully declining pandemic, hiring new faculty has recently begun in earnest for many research universities. Hence, considering the most effective criteria for selecting new faculty is important, with long-term implications. So, what are the best criteria?
In his 2011 book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Prize–winning economist and psychologist Daniel Kahneman contends that statistical analysis of data is an equal or even better measure of quality than intuitive judgments based on off-the-cuff interviews. These data can come from applicants’ CVs—for example, college ranking, number of peer-reviewed publications, impact factor of journals, and the h-index of both the candidates and their mentors. They can also come from the job interview, according to Kahneman, who suggests that hiring committees ask candidates a few questions about each of six independent traits deemed to be prerequisites for success, then rank the answers on a scale from, say, 1 (poor) ...
