Strategies to Accommodate Dual Career Couples in Academic Sciences and Engineering Departments

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Strategies to Accommodate Dual Career Couples in
Academic Sciences and Engineering Departments

Organized by Kim Sullivan Department of
Biology Utah State University yejunco_at_biology.usu.
edu
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Agenda

• 1330 Introduction and National Perspective
  (Chris Hailey, USU)
• Challenges and Efforts
• 1345 University of Puerto Rico-Humaco (Idelia
  Ramos)
• 1400 New Mexico State University (Lisa Frehill)
• 1415 University of Rhode Island (Barb Silver)
• 1430 Utah States Dual Career Committee (Don
  Fiesinger)
• 1445 Case Western
• Best Practices
• 1500 Survey of best practices (Kim Sullivan)
• Break
• 1530 Discussion and development of white paper

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Forum for White Paper

• Change Magazine, American Association for Higher
  Education
• Sciences Next Wave, Online career resources for
  scientists
• Christine Hult, USU, will work with team in
  writing an article

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National Perspectives

• Academic Couples Problems and Promisesby
  Marianne A. Ferber, Jane W. Loeb (Eds.)
• University of Illinois Press, Urbana and
  Chicago, 1997.

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National Perspectives
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National Perspectives

• Advantages
• Institutional attachment and loyalty
• High morale could create a cooperative and
  appreciative attitude
• Institution is seen as compassionate and caring
• A possible bargain for the university (two
  positions may outweigh a slight reduction in
  salary)

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National Perspectives

• Disadvantages
• Administration appears to interfere with
  procedures of faculty recruitment/hiring
• Possible conflict with affirmative action
  procedures
• During recruiting (questions about spouses
  status)
• May hire a spouse at the expense of diversity
• Existing faculty and staff may have adverse
  reactions
• Newcomers constitute a power bloc?
• Non-accommodated spouses before policy was in
  place?
• One gets tenured, the other does not qualify for
  tenure?
• The couple separates?
• Extend advantage to unmarried heterosexual and
  gay and lesbian couples?

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National Perspectives

• UIUC Data (85 total departments)

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National Perspectives

• UIUC Retention Data, 1994

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National Perspectives

• University of Puerto Rico-Humaco
• (Idelia Ramos)