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Session 3475

Hiring and Advancement Hints for Dual Academic Engineering Couples

Noel N. Schulz, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Kirk H. Schulz, Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering Mississippi State University

Introduction

This paper and presentation will further the authors’ previous activities related to dual career hiring [1-2] and address some updated hints for dual career hiring as well as suggestions related to advancement, both within your current university as well as looking at dual career moves to other universities. Hints have been derived from over ten years of experience as a faculty member, search committee member and department head sitting on both sides of the issue. Besides the authors’ experience, we have discussed with several other dual career academic couples how they have worked to advance both of their careers.

Hiring new engineering and science faculty is a challenging process. Dual career issues have added an extra layer of challenge to this process. In diversifying faculty, consideration of dual career couples for open faculty positions is essential. A recent National Research Council Survey [3] found that nearly 60% of all female engineering faculty members had a spouse working in science or engineering. Many articles [4-10] and even one book [11] discuss the issues related to dual career hiring and advancement. A recent study at Cornell University sponsored by the Sloan Foundation found that couples working at the same university are happier and report less stress than those working apart [4]. This study helped quantify issues discussed in an earlier article in the Chronicle of Higher Education [5].

Dual career issues can be accentuated in smaller university towns or cities where the university is the only or one of the only major employers in the area, decreasing other employment opportunities for trailing spouses. In the engineering and related science departments (which include Physics, Math and Chemistry) at Mississippi State University, of the 28 women who have held faculty appointments in the 11 academic units over the past 20 years, 11 have been part of a dual career academic couple. Of the 20 women currently on the faculty, 7 are part of dual career academic couples, with all of the spouses holding or have held faculty appointments within the 11 academic units included in this proposal.

The following sections provide some suggestions related to these topics: • Hints for Dual Career Couples when Seeking an Academic Position • Hints for Search Committees Dealing with Dual Career Couples • Advancement as a Dual Career Couple • Making it All Work: Balancing Professional and Personal Issues • Hints for Working in the Same Department

“Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Schulz, K., & Schulz, N. (2003, June), Hiring And Advancement Hints For Dual Academic Engineering Couples Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12174