Yes I would think that the attribution to financial issues is the most accurate one. During the financial crisis there were a ton of searches that were suddenly frozen and it was certainly due to financial issues. Who knows? There are so many things that might influence the financial backing of a position, even one that has been posted. There are also other possibilities that have to do with departmental or university politics or other factors that a SC may not wish to share with potential hires. For instance, imagine if the position is in an area in which the "big dog" just announced s/he is moving to another institution. Or the hot junior faculty member has announced s/he is moving. (Or both). Either of these types of situations might compel a SC to say, whoa! The position we were searching for (the area of specialty, for instance) is now only 1 of many we need to fill. Or they might say, "We really wanted X but the big cheese pushed for Y. If the big cheese is leaving, why are we searching for Y?" Or the department might be in the middle of a personnel nightmare, lawsuits or what not. Or what if there has been some issues in the department (terrible things like harassment claims or mismanagement or something) causing it to go into "receivership", including the appointment of an outside chair from another department. That would not be a good time to hire anyone. Even more extreme, imagine a department or area is being considered for demolition by a university!?
So, you can see that "multiple factors" can be at play and can influence whether a department goes forward with a search. It may have nothing to do with you! :) No one would want to tell someone they might one day hope to hire about any of this stuff!
annon (guest) 20 Feb 2014 02:40
