Academic Parents

New faculty members often face the challenge of being or becoming new parents near the beginning of their academic career.  The American Association of University Professors  suggests these principles and guidelines for appropriate policies and practices regarding family leaves, modified teaching schedules, “stopping the tenure clock,” and institutional assistance for family responsibilities. They state that, “tremendous potential exists for achieving a healthy work-family integration. At the same time, academic culture poses a special challenge. The lack of a clear boundary in academic lives between work and family has, at least historically, meant that work has been all pervasive, often to the detriment of family.”

Here are the UCSC Policies on Leaves of Absence, Including Family-Friendly Policies.

There is extensive research that new academic mothers are particularly disadvantaged due to cultural norms and expectations regarding their family roles. See this article for more information.  

The Academic Mothers Faculty Community Network works to address the special challenges confronting academic mothers by creating a supportive campus-wide network of scholar-moms. They bring together mothers from across campus for occasional meals, family picnics, and organizing meetings. Additionally, they run a Google Group for mothers to connect virtually. The non-hierarchical group provides a space for conversation and for those interested to work on advocacy, arrange childcare swaps, crowdsource material childcare needs, and arrange playdates. Mothers on the tenure track, postdocs, lecturers, and anyone else at the post-PhD stage of her career is welcome to join the group. If you’re interested, contact current group chair to be added to the mailing list.