About HERC

Inclusive Excellence: The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is a non-profit coalition of over 700 colleges, universities, hospitals, research labs, government agencies, and related non- and for-profit organizations, committed to diversifying the pipeline of faculty, staff, and executives in academia. HERC supports our member institutions in recruiting and retaining outstanding and diverse employees.

We believe that inclusive, equitable hiring and retention practices are not only the right thing to do, but essential to achieving the academic missions of HERC's member institutions. Educating people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures takes a diverse academic workforce. HERC particularly understands the acute need to remove barriers to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of talented faculty and staff from historically excluded populations who are currently underrepresented in higher education. Read HERC's Diversity and Inclusion Statement.

How We Work

HERC’s mission is accomplished through the following programs:

Comprehensive regional and national higher education jobs websites
Member collaboration on facilitating dual career employment and state-of-the art dual career search technology
Partnerships with associations, societies, and publications that serve women and minorities
National advertising campaigns to promote the HERC websites
Conference attendance to reach out to underrepresented jobseekers, with a special emphasis on STEM professionals
Professional development opportunities for members, including regional member conferences and webinars
HERC member discounts with key higher education vendors

Who We Are

The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium is a non-profit organization with a central coordinating office and nineteen regional offices.

HERC Central Staff »
The Central HERC office is responsible for strategic planning; new HERC development and consultation; website development and oversight; advertising, public relations, and brand development; data collection and reporting; establishing and maintaining partnerships and contracts; coordinating the Central HERC Advisory Board and committees; and other HERC-wide initiatives.

HERC Advisory Board »
The HERC Advisory Board provides governance, strategic leadership, evaluation and financial oversight of the organization. The Advisory Board consists of all regional HERC Directors as well as an additional representative that is selected by each regional HERC. The Advisory Board has the following elected officer positions: Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Member Institutions »
HERC's 700 member institutions include colleges, universities, hospitals, research labs, government agencies, and related non- and for-profit organizations.

What HERC Offers Jobseekers

HERC provides jobseekers with comprehensive and transparent access to job opportunities, daily job alerts, career advice newsletter and resources, dual career support, free webinars with frequent diversity topics, and regional multicultural resources to help with relocating to a new community.

View upcoming jobseeker outreach events »

What HERC Offers Member Institutions

Is your campus hiring the most outstanding and diverse faculty, staff, and executives? Do you have a successful strategy for assisting dual career couples? Interested in pooling resources to increase your campus' effectiveness in these areas?

Learn how a HERC membership can help your institution »

What HERC Offers Corporate & Non-Profit Partners

HERC offers partners the opportunity to present business solutions and information about their organizations to higher education human resources, chief academic officer, and diversity leaders—the individuals responsible for purchasing decisions at their institutions.

Learn how partnering with HERC can help your organization »

Join HERC

Annual Reports

Marketplace

Mission

The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is a nonprofit consortium of colleges, universities, and related groups committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the higher education workforce.

Vision

A diverse, equitable, and inclusive higher education workplace where people of all identities and perspectives can thrive.
2022-2025 Strategic Plan Executive Summary

History

HERC was founded in the spring of 2000 by colleges and universities in Northern California that sought ways to collaborate on addressing dual-career and employment outreach challenges at their campuses. HERC was established as a member governed non-profit, 501(c)3 organization.

Based on HERC's success, since then, HERC’s have developed in 18 additional regions, representing over 700 institutions throughout the United States. A central coordinating office was established in 2007.