Faculty vote today on tenure pause proposal

The faculty will vote today on a new policy proposal that would allow tenure-track faculty members, both male and female, to extend their "pre-tenure probationary period" to up to a year after the birth or adoption of a child.

The issue was originally brought up by a group of female faculty members who were concerned about the absence of a tenure pause policy. A committee was formed on the issue, and more faculty members were invited "to make the committee more diverse both across gender and across discipline lines," according to Psychology Professor Holly Taylor, a member of the committee.

The policy applies to faculty members who are primary caregivers and can be used for as many as two children. Faculty members "will be given the option of having an additional year before they are reviewed for tenure in order to allow them time to handle the demands of a new child," Taylor said. Faculty members are required to submit a letter of deferral before taking the year off.

Though Tufts' policy would be applied evenly across gender lines, female professors typically suffer more from the absence of a tenure pause policy. A study by the University of California at Berkeley found that "among tenured humanities and social science professors in their 40s, only 38 percent of the women have children, compared with 61 percent of men," The New York Times reported last August.

Professor of Art and Art History Andrew McClellan is one of the few male members of the committee. "I have been a heavily involved parent to my two children and therefore recognize why it makes sense to grant time to whoever serves as a primary care giver," McClellan said. "We shouldn't make assumptions about the structure of family life today -- who does what work, how many parents there are, even what gender the two care givers might be."

If the policy is approved, it will likely represent a positive step in facilitating faculty relations and the tenure process. "It seems to me our job as a university is to give support to our faculty and staff in order to allow them to perform at the highest possible level professionally while also raising healthy and happy children," McClellan said.

By considering the tenure pause issue, Tufts follows in the footsteps of other major institutions, many of which have adopted similar policies. The prevalence of tenure pauses at other universities was another reason behind the committee's formation, according to Psychology Professor Emily Bushnell.

"The proposal was put forth to bring Tufts into line with the majority of other like institutions in this regard -- accommodating for interactions between career and parenthood," Bushnell said.

The committee's other members are Dean of Arts & Sciences Susan Ernst, Director of Diversity Education and Development for A&S Margery Davies, English Professor Sonia Hofkosh, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering David Gute, Dean of the Graduate School of A & S Robin Kanarek, and Assistant to the Dean of A&S Pamela Lucas.