Regional higher education recruitment consortium unveils Web site

March 6, 2008 -- The St. Louis Regional Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (STLR-HERC) has launched its employment Web site, announced Laurel Sgan, STLR-HERC director.

The online jobs site features a search engine and currently more than 500 positions at St. Louis-area colleges, universities and affiliated institutions. It can be accessed at stlrherc.org and is free and open to the public.

Stlrherc.org is unique because it is the first Web site in the St. Louis region to offer academic institutions and job seekers a central site to either post or peruse employment opportunities solely in research and higher education.

The Web site also highlights helpful information for those interested in relocating to the St. Louis region, including links to regional attractions, organizations, schools and housing resources.

The STLR-HERC, which is led by Washington University in St. Louis and comprises 15 St. Louis-area colleges, universities and affiliated organizations, was formed in May 2007 to increase regional collaboration in faculty and staff recruitment.

The STLR-HERC's Web site will especially be useful to institutions that actively recruit minority candidates and members of dual-career couples.

"Data suggests that approximately 87 percent of female full-time faculty and 56 percent of male full-time faculty have partners also working full time, and a study at the University of Pennsylvania found that more than 20 percent of full-time faculty have partners working in higher education," Sgan said.

"Universities have learned that finding appropriate employment for partners, many of whom often have careers in higher education themselves, is key to the successful recruitment and retention of outstanding faculty and staff," Sgan added. "By sharing information about opportunities in higher education and diverse local resources, STLR-HERC can help make the couple's transition to the region a little easier."

Current STLR-HERC members are the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Fontbonne University, Harris-Stowe State University, Lewis and Clark Community College, Lindenwood University, Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis University, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, St. Charles Community College, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, St. Louis Community College, University of Illinois at Springfield, University of Missouri, University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University.

In addition to providing a central Web site to post job listings, the STLR-HERC offers regular opportunities for member organizations to discuss issues and practices in recruitment and retention strategies.

There are eight other HERCs in the United States: two in California (Northern California and Southern California) and four in the Northeast (Metro New York/Southern Connecticut, New England, New Jersey, Upstate New York) and two in the Midwest (Chicago and Michigan). HERCs are currently being developed in Minnesota and the Mid-Atlantic region.