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A A U P ’ S R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S O N P A R T N E R A C C O M M O D A T I O N
MAKING POLICY
Ann HigginbothamEastern Connecticut State University
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
“Among both students and faculty we recognize the growing number of husband-wife teams (the tandem team) in which the academic goals of both members must be accommodated. We urge chairmen and deans to put forth the same efforts to find employment for spouses when it is a married woman who is being recruited as when it is a married man.”
Bernice L. Neugarten, University of Chicago, “Women in a University,” (1970)
BACKGROUND
• Changing faculty demographics:more women and more academic couples
• Recognition of partner accommodation as a recruitment and retention issue, particularly for large research universities
• Expanding definition of “partners”
AAUP: COMMITTEE ON WOMEN IN THE ACADEMIC PROFESSION
• 2001: Statement on Family Responsibilities and Academic WorkRecommended flexible family friendly policies including paid maternity and parental leave, subsidized child care, and stop-the-tenure-clock policies• 2006: Gender Equity Index:
Explored comparative employment, promotion, and pay levels at two-year and four-year institutions• 2010: Recommendations on Dual Career
Accommodation
AAUP CONCERNS
• Encouraging defined policies rather than ad hoc solutions• Avoiding a “one-size fits all” solution• Protecting both gender equity and affirmative action• Protecting faculty governance• Insuring equitable treatment for partners
TYPES OF DUAL CAREER ACCOMMODATION
• Assistance and InformationHERCs (Higher Education Recruitment Consortia)Job search supportResource centers and “partner assistance programs”Networking with business and community organizations
• Dual Career HiresTemporaryPermanent
SOME MODELS
UC, Davis: POPPartner Opportunities
ProgramAdvice on conducing an
employment searchInformation on child
care, housing, schools and other community issues
Coordination of bridging positions
Penn State: Dual Career Employment Assistance Program
Orientation to community
NetworkingResume developmentWorks with Provost’s
Office to explore opportunities for academic positions
TYPES OF DUAL-CAREER HIRES
• Temporary or bridging positions
• Contingent positions (part-time or full-time)
• Shared positions
• Permanent tenured or tenure-track positionsTemporaryPermanent
THE ON-GOING ISSUE OF DUAL-CAREER HIRING
• “Few Issues in faculty recruiting are more fraught with tension than the hiring of academic couples”
(Robin Wilson, Chronicle of Higher Education, 1999)
• “Worries about a partner’s finding a job are, in fact, a major reason why colleges lose faculty and professional staff-recruits.”
(Audrey Williams June, Chronicle of Higher Education, 2009)
PARTNERS AND HIRING
The Benefits
• Aids hiring and retention particularly in STEM fields
• Expands programs for work/life balance for academic couples
The Concerns
• Can produce departmental and faculty resentment over hiring process
• Can result in the “trailing spouse” syndrome
PROBLEMS WITH DUAL CAREER HIRING
• “My department was forced to take a new position in an area we did not need.”
• “This opportunity was not given to me and my partner when I was hired.”
• “I was treated as a second-class citizen by the department and told I was only hired because the administration wanted to hire my partner.”
RECOMMENDATIONS:CREATION OF CAMPUS POLICIES
• That institutions carefully examine the appropriateness of dual-career hiring• That universities adopt comprehensive policies
rather than case-by-case solutions• That policies be developed by appropriate faculty
governance bodies• That policies be open and available to all
potential hires not just those identified as “stars”• That policies be regularly evaluated
BALANCE
• Sensitivity to work/life balance must also be tempered by attention to good governance and the protections of tenure.
• Colleges and universities need to develop policies that balance the needs of departments and institutions with the needs of faculty members.
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/comm/rep/dual.htm