Academic recruitment in Spain and Italy.

Abstract

According to Xavier Bosch's article “Reforms spark more jobs—and protests” (News of the Week, 1 Feb., p. [781][1]), the Spanish government's reform of university hiring practices is an effort to circumvent cronyism by abolishing the system of five-member boards (two from the university that has advertised the new position) that select candidates for academic posts. Spanish universities had been criticized for hiring internal or local candidates over 90% of the time. The Italian system of university appointments (concorsi) is similar to the old Spanish one, and the results seem similar too. In fact, nearly 100% of concorsi select internal or local candidates. Do Italian concorsi select the best applicants on the basis of the quality of their research. According to Italian law, each candidate is required to undergo a formal public examination in which a committee of five university professors, with one from the university advertising the position, choose the two best candidates (three candidates until the year 2000). We recently revisited 13 out of 14 concorsi from 2000 for the selection of full professors in the field of general surgery. We retrieved the scientific publications of all 93 candidates from MEDLINE. The total number of publications, the number of publications cited in the Journal Citation Report (JCR) 2000, the number of publications in journals not included in the JCR list, and the total impact factor (IF) were computed. None of these indicators were significantly different between the selected candidates (idonei) and those not selected. Two of the four candidates with an IF greater than 100 (106 was the maximum in our sample) were accepted on their first attempt; the other two were not accepted at all, even after three and four attempts, respectively. Of the 31 candidates accepted on their first attempt (out of the total 39 idonei), 10 passed even with a total IF less than 5 (three had an IF of zero). Successful candidates who had coauthored publications with members of the selection committees were also largely represented. In Italy (as perhaps is the case in Spain), concorsi apparently fail to select candidates according to their scientific impact. The Spanish government reform, aiming at “a more open, competitive and transparent recruitment” of university professors, is based on a preliminary review of the qualification of aspiring applicants. Universities may then choose candidates. If the verification is based on objective indicators, the new Spanish system might work. Many academic researchers in Italy have grounds to feel that their present system is badly in need of reform. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.295.5556.781a