I am always interested in finding ways to make the faculty positions available at my institution attractive to potential candidates. As I've discussed before, we have some challenges: We are a small teaching-oriented and teaching-intensive university, and (probably more importantly) we are located in a fairly remote corner of northwest Iowa, which, while it can be beautiful if you like cornfields, groves of trees, and silos, is not the dream location for many young Ph.D.'s.

One thing we do have, though, is a very good campus climate. Faculty members on the whole are collaborative, collegial, and friendly. There is a climate of mutual respect among the various constituencies on campus, and given the generally high level of contentiousness academics are capable of displaying, our faculty members are at peace, enjoy their jobs, and work very well together. These qualities are exceptionally valuable for a small institution, and I am grateful every day that this is what it's like here, since I have seen different.

Candidates looking at potential positions, especially for their first jobs, probably underestimate the value of a good campus climate. It doesn't take long in a dysfunctional atmosphere—even one characterized by good resources, prestige, and a light teaching load—to understand how destructive living and working in one can be. Things that ought to be easy and even pleasurable turn into momentous tasks. Wonderful ideas for collaboration, new programs, and other opportunities die because it's simply not worth it to work towards developing them. It's hard to go to work.

Candidates are at a huge disadvantage when it comes discerning campus climate. For one, it's very difficult to get a detailed inside perspective in the short time of a campus interview. For another, search committees are usually on their best behavior when candidates are around. A smart search chair, too, will assemble a committee that isn't going to show the institution at its worst (or even at its natural equilibrium, whatever that may be).

So, how can candidates assess climate? Here's a short checklist: Are you treated courteously and professionally? Do people attend your public sessions? Do they ask you thoughtful questions rather than play "gotcha" with you? Do they take these opportunities to stage their own preexisting conflicts? When you go to meals with the committee or others (they do take you to meals, don't they?), are they courteous to each other? Better yet, do they appear to enjoy each others' company? In private, do they air departmental dirty laundry and begin to try to enlist you on their side of whatever conflict engages them? Do you get a positive feel from the whole process?

These days it's even more difficult for candidates than usual. Jobs are so scarce that turning one down over a negative campus atmosphere may be out of the question. But if you are fortunate enough to have multiple options, it's definitely worth weighing what you can tell about campus climate very heavily in your deliberations.