Working With Dual Career Couples: A Ten-Year Perspective John T. Snow Dean, College of Geosciences The University of Oklahoma

The Goal  Build, sustain a community of scholars who support the institutional missions of teaching, research, and outreach –Hire a diverse mix of individuals who show exceptional promise as scholars/teacher- mentors/researchers –Professionally develop –Retain –Tenure/promote Being a faculty member is not a job, it is a lifestyle

Dual Career Couples  Opportunity for both the institution and the couple –Institution: Obtain exceptional faculty, some of whom who might not otherwise consider applying –Couple: Obtain satisfying careers for both partners  Success depends on the couple, faculty colleagues, and the academic chain of department-college-university administrators

The Couple  Key to success: Both must be sufficiently accomplished that each would be a successful on an independent basis  Each case is unique! –Most consider both personal and professional goals as individuals … and as a couple –Commitment to both personal and professional success of oneself and of one’s partner  Openness and honesty, planning essential –Establish goals, make known early in the interview/hiring process

The Institution  Be open, flexible, creative in hiring process –Clear policies –Central administration willing to work with colleges, departments to place/retain a partner –Targeted $$$: 1/3 – 1/3 - 1/3 on salary; start-up ???  Provide a supportive environment  flexibility at the department level  Couples happen! –Provide mentoring opportunities for own students/graduates who are couples seeking positions

Hiring Issues  Privacy –Institution legally bound to follow –Individuals must choose what to reveal and when –Continues throughout career –Late “revelations”  “Too Hard To Do” Cases –Both partners in same (sub-) disciplinary area  Hard to hire in small program –Partner’s research area has large start-up costs  Hiring at the senior level  Partner is a professional, but not academic –Community ties essential –“Go extra mile”

Key Milestones  Hire –Initial deal  Receipt of tenure/promotion –Renegotiate the initial deal  Retention –The outside offer  One  Both  “In-house” couples – numerous combinations –Rethink career plans

Challenges  External: Child and other family responsibilities (care of elderly parents, relatives)  Internal: Nepotism –Handling of proposals, salary increases, roles in faculty governance, administration –Credit for scholarly and research activities if couple are also research partners –Institution needs to get out in front, develop policy, educate department heads, individuals

Success Divergence  Salary divergence  Wrong career choice(s) –Bad fit to department, institution –Just not an “academic”  Differing expectations w/i the academic community  Failure of partner to obtain tenure  Ready to move on!  administration, government service, industry  Divorce, affairs, mid-life crises, etc…

Bottomline  A well-structured, well-implemented dual career couples program, coupled with a supportive institutional environment at all levels, has big payoff for individuals and for the institution  Such an environment also positive for those who are not a dual career couple  Openness, honesty are keys to success