Reflections on tenure, the two-body problem, and retention in the 21st century academy

Larson, Samantha June; Miller, Annie; Drury, Ida

doi:10.1080/15236803.2020.1759346

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…At present, there is an urgent need to remove impediments to dual-career recruitment and retention so that universities can work effectively toward their gender and racial equity goals. Moreover, we are at a moment when many graduate students and junior scholars are reconsidering the profession, which they increasingly see as hostile to family life (Larson et al, 2020;Mason et al, 2009), so universities risk losing some of the best talent unless they act quickly to correct the deficiencies that they can. This process can start by recognizing that scholars are not atomized individuals who make career decisions in a vacuum; rather, they are embedded in relationships and personal commitments that shape their identities and inform their choices every step of the way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partnering Through It: Confronting the Institutional Challenges Facing Dual-Career Academic Couples

Monahan

Fisher

2023

J Women Minor Scien Eng

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Purpose: Meeting the needs of dual-career academic couples can be an important step in recruiting and retaining university faculty and researchers. The goal of this essay is to review the existing scholarship on dual-career hires and offer concrete recommendations for university administrators. Background/Motivation: Attending to dual-career needs is especially relevant to efforts at diversifying the academic workforce, as multiple studies have indicated that faculty appointments are a major contributor to the so-called leaky pipeline causing attrition of women and scholars of color, particularly in biomedical and STEM fields. We take it as a feminist imperative to confront institutional discrimination against dual-career scholars and to intervene in the service of collective praxis. Intended Audience: Scholars and administrators interested in understanding and overcoming institutional barriers to achieving diverse, inclusive, and family-friendly academic workplaces. Contribution: This essay synthesizes the recent literature on dual-career hires and offers recommendations for university administrators. Positionality: We approach this issue as a senior academic couple that has navigated dual-career job searches for close to twenty years and has held faculty positions together at three different academic institutions. We are a white, hetero dual-career academic couple interested in developing resources for individuals striving to activate change at their universities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partnering Through It: Confronting the Institutional Challenges Facing Dual-Career Academic Couples

Monahan

Fisher

2023

J Women Minor Scien Eng

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“…While the separation led some participants to seek support from others to fulfill their responsibilities while they were away, many also reported that the separation helped them to appreciate their partners more when they are home. Larson et al (2020), continue the discussion on work-life balance by reflecting on their own experiences during the pursuit of tenure track positions and how balance (or lack thereof) has crept into their personal lives and the early stages of their careers. Using an auto-ethnographic approach, they present their own stories in a raw truthfulness that is seldom in career reflections within the academy.…”

Section: Introduction To the Symposium On Work-life Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Symposium on Work-Life Balance

McDonald

Hatcher

2020

Journal of Public Affairs Education

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A review of the institutional landscape for dual-career hiring in higher education

Monahan,

Waltz,

Parker

et al. 2024

Discov Educ

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Meeting the needs of dual-career academic couples has become an important part of university efforts to foster family-friendly workplaces. Many universities have developed formal or informal approaches to addressing dual-career issues, but variation across institutions has made it difficult to detect wider patterns or probe their implications. In this paper, we analyze the dual-career policies and materials (848 documents total) of all R1 institutions in the United States. As with studies from roughly two decades ago, we find deficiencies in institutional support and transparency. However, given reduced state revenues for institutions of higher education and a rise in precarious employment arrangements over the same time period, conditions for academic couples are arguably worse today. In order for universities to address these concerns and contribute meaningfully to broader forms of inclusion, we argue that there is a need for sustained funding commitments and infrastructural support for dual-career programs.

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Reflections on tenure, the two-body problem, and retention in the 21st century academy

Cited by 5 publications

References 45 publications

Partnering Through It: Confronting the Institutional Challenges Facing Dual-Career Academic Couples

Partnering Through It: Confronting the Institutional Challenges Facing Dual-Career Academic Couples

Introduction to the Symposium on Work-Life Balance

A review of the institutional landscape for dual-career hiring in higher education

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