February 2007
Parenting in the Academy PanelWhen is the right time to start a family? How do you make time for yourself? How do you find daycare providers for when your child is sick? What does your typical day look like? How do you tell your advisor that you can’t write a report overnight because you have family obligations? These questions and more were answered this month at the third annual Parenting in the Academy Panel for science and engineering graduate students and post docs, held this month at Rackham Graduate School. Sponsored by WISE and Rackham, the panel featured four UM faculty members at different stages of their careers talking about balancing parenting with an academic career. Panelists included Alec Gallimore Professor of Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Associate Dean for Academic Program and Initiatives, Rackham Graduate School, Ella Atkins, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Karin Martin, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Sociology and Jennifer Aurandt, Assistant Professor Biochemistry, Kettering University and UM PhD, Biological Chemistry. When is the best time is to start a family while pursing a tenure track position? “Grad School? During a Post Doc? After Tenure?” questioned panelist Karin Martin. “There is no one answer. You need to think about what makes sense for you. You need to think about your plan, your partner’s plan, and your department. It depends on a lot of different things.” Martin also advised students not to put their lives on hold because nothing is certain, including tenure. Other panelists concurred with Martin, and their individual experiences helped to illustrate the point that the right time depends on the individuals involved. Panelist Jennifer Aurandt planned to start a family while she was in graduate school. She made this clear in her graduate school interviews. She was about to get married and planned to start a family not long after. Another panelist had a child and defended her PhD a year later, another had her first child after her third year review for tenure and another had a child after being tenured This model of academics being involved in parenting can be new for some universities, for some departments or for some supervisors. Some department chairs may have never had to deal with maternity leave, because they may never have had a female faculty member in that department before, or may never had a graduate student who needed maternity or paternity leave before. When on maternity leave as a PhD student, one panelist’s advisor told her, “You’ll be able to get so much work done on your dissertation!” to which the panelist replied, “Are you going to come over and baby-sit?” While most of the panelist experienced being this “first” some time in their academic career at various universities, most selected supervisors who they knew would be willing to negotiate and who would support them. Panelists advised audience members to research the labs and departments that might hire them. Are there policies in place for maternity leave? Is there a precedent? How was it handled? What happens with the tenure clock when you go on maternity or paternity leave? Have honest, respectful conversations about your plans, needs and situations, advised panelists, and expect to negotiate. “I had someone tell me, ‘You’ll never be a scholar or academic if you allow your wife to have a job,’ ” said panelist Alec Gallimore. This story refers to a more traditional model in academic where a male faculty is supported by a stay at home wife who takes care of the home and the children. Gallimore’s spouse, also a PhD, is responsible for her own research lab in a corporation. Both partners share in childcare and house management duties. Gallimore is very public about his home responsibilities so that it is clear that his may not be available for work every minute of every day. Gallimore has a separate cell phone for childcare providers. It is the one phone he will not ignore during his teaching hours, and he lets his students know this. Childcare was an issue that seemed be the biggest concern for both faculty and student-parents in the audience. Karen Martin pointed out that daycare situations are dynamic, sometimes they work really well and sometimes they don’t. A day care provider may decide to change careers, a parent may need to change a schedule, and a child may need a new situation. Martin advised students to be prepared for this, but reminded them, “The wonderful thing about academic job is that time is flexible. You can arrange it so it works for you. It has some flexibility so that when kids get sick you can manage it.” Aurandt purposefully took a job that was not far from family so they had backup care if they needed it. She also has developed a network with other parents who call each other for emergency babysitting needs. All panelists credited supportive partners with their ability to manage families and a position in academics. Atkins and her spouse were both interested in tenure track positions when they considered becoming parents. “We were unwilling to go through the rush of having both of us pursue the tenure track at once.” Together they decided that Atkins would go first and so her husband pursed a high school teaching job. Now that she has tenure, it’s her spouse’s turn to pursue a tenured position. “Because he has been out of the research community, it’s almost like starting over,” says Atkins. “Don’t take your partner for granted—no job-trumping,” advised Gallimore, “Both of you face pressures. Negotiating and giving honest, up front feedback is how to make it work.” House management is an issue for the panelists who would rather spend time with their families than on house cleaning. Panelists all hire someone to clean house and to take care of other household chores when they can. One suggestion was to count on a half of one partner’s paycheck to go toward house management. Time management was also a concern of audience members. “You become more efficient when you’re a parent,” says Aurandt. “Before I had a baby I worked 60 hours a week in the lab. After I had a baby, I worked 40 hours a week and was just as productive.” In fact Aurandt was so productive, she finished her PhD in Biological Chemistry in 5 years, which included the birth of her first child, and she published enough to bypass a post doc and land a faculty position with Kettering University in Flint. Gallimore says that Aurandt’s example efficiency is supported by research. “Research show that those with partners or family responsibilities are more efficient.”
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