April 2006
Parenting in the AcademyCo-sponsored by WISE and the Rackham Graduate School Office of Student Life, February’s Parenting in the Academy panel was an opportunity for both male and female graduate students in the science and engineering fields to learn how faculty and staff in these disciplines attempt to balance their parenting and academic responsibilities. Panelists provided honest pictures of the balancing act of the academic parent. The panel featured Cherie Dotson, Graduate Student Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator in the College of Pharmacy, Alec Gallimore, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Associate Dean for Academic Program and Initiatives in the Rackham Graduate School, and Joanna Mirecki Millunchick, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering. Professor Mirecki Millunchick told the audience that being a faculty member was the ideal job for someone interested in raising a family. “I have complete control of my schedule,” says Mirecki Millunchick. “It’s challenging. It’s hard. But it’s great!” She also pointed out that, “you can’t do it alone.” Mirecki Millunchick believes she is able to balance both family and being a professor because she has “the most amazing spouse ever”—who was willing to relocate in order for her to accept a position at UM. She also advises students to prioritize. “Figure out what you must do and let go of what you can.” Mirecki Millunchick along with other panelists advocated for hiring others to clean, do laundry, cook, or run errands if and when you can. Cherie Dodson, a PhD
in pharmacy is married to a PhD academic. While doing post-doctoral research
Dodson spent 3 years in a long-distance marriage and chose to veer from
the academic path when she had her children in order to keep her family
in one location. Because she works full-time in a demanding job, Dodson,
like the academic panelists, must work to find balance in her life. She
finds sharing household and parenting responsibilities is key to achieving
some kind of balance. In addition, she uses windows of time with her children
to create quality time—for example, time the family spends in the
car. Also, every Monday night she takes her kids roller skating. Male students in the audience were as interested as the females in finding ways that they could make time to share parenting responsibilities. In answer to the question of just how much time a graduate student or a post-doc can get off when a baby is born, Gallimore said that the University does not have a formalized policy. He and Mirecki Millunchick both suggested honest and reasonable conversations with advisor well before the baby is due. “Talk to your advisor and tell her what you would like—six weeks off,“ says Mirecki Millunchick. “But remember that this is a conversation about what is possible and it may not end up being exactly what you want.” Mirecki Millunchick recently had a graduate student in her lab take time off when his baby was born. When he needs to go home, the whole research group is very supportive of him. The audience was also interested in advice about a good time to have children. Gallimore explained that there are trade offs. When you wait until you’re tenured, you’re well established, and you don’t have financial issues. He and his wife put their careers and travel first. But he and his wife would have had more children if they had started their families earlier. Mirecki Millunchick had her children during the tenure process. Panelists noted that having children in grad school offers a degree of flexibility, but you’ll be short on money, whereas waiting until you’re older makes you more emotionally ready for the experience. |
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