Dear Colleagues,
Effective January 1, 2026, updates to the university’s Recruitment and Hiring Guidelines and related processes went into effect, furthering the university’s commitment to equal opportunity and merit-based employment practices.
These updates strengthen protections against any form of bias or preference, explicit or implicit, based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics, including through incentives, expectations, proxy criteria, or ambiguous language.
Key Changes:
• Proactive Review of Job Postings: In partnership with IHR, OAE is resuming the practice of reviewing all job postings before publication on the university’s job board to ensure language does not imply preference or bias for against any group based on a protected classification. OAE will collaborate with hiring units to address concerns before posting.
• Verification of Training Completion: Before each position is posted, OAE will confirm that the hiring manager, search coordinator, and all committee members have completed the Inclusive Hiring at Illinois training (valid if completed after April 21, 2025).
• Expanded Training: The Inclusive Hiring at Illinois training program now provides all search participants with strategies to identify and mitigate potential bias in evaluation criteria and interview questions, and to ensure that committee discussions remain focused on candidates’ job qualifications. This includes content that previously was included only in the training module for Diversity Advocates.
• Diversity Advocate Role: Because the above training and responsibilities are now embedded into the expectations for all committee members, there will no longer be a stand-alone role of Diversity Advocate.
Finally, please be aware that the Affirmative Action Analytics and Planning Division within the Office for Access & Equity is now known as Workforce Equity. This new name better reflects the holistic scope of our efforts including training, oversight of employee processes, data transparency, and compliance reporting to promote equal employment opportunity and inclusive practices. For more information please see https://oae.illinois.edu/workforce-equity.
Thank you for your continued partnership in promoting fair, consistent, and inclusive hiring practices across the university.
Nizam Arain
Associate Vice Chancellor for Access and Equity
Heidi Johnson
Director, Workforce Equity
Office for Access & Equity