EMS Guidelines for Spousal Hires

The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences recognizes that a growing number of faculty have spouses that desire faculty appointments within EMS or within other colleges and units at Penn State University. It is the intent of the College and its units to be proactive in facilitating spousal hires for faculty if possible. The guidelines that follow define actions within EMS to facilitate spousal employment for its faculty.

RECRUITMENT OF TENURE-TRACK FACULTY:

The Pennsylvania State University has a formal procedure for tenure-track faculty recruitment in the case of dual career faculty. The University will commit 1/3 of the spousal salary associated with recruiting tenure-track faculty. This policy goes into effect once the College has provided an offer to an individual based on an advertised search and has identified the other 2/3 of the spousal salary. There are two cases:

Spousal appointments outside of EMS. If the College commits 1/3 of the spousal salary, these funds will be matched by the University. If the non-EMS unit is then willing to provide the additional 1/3 salary, then the spouse can be hired within the non-EMS unit.

Spousal appointments within EMS. Faculty recruitment procedures for spousal hires within EMS units follow the same rules as for University units outside of EMS. The only exception is that the College must provide 2/3 of the total funds.

Initiation of the process. The process of initiating a spousal hire during recruitment involves the following steps and rules: (1) The process must be initiated at the level of the Department Head or Institute Director. (2) The EMS unit must provide the initial financial support for the spousal hire. (3) The College contribution must be formally requested by the EMS unit head, and must include sufficient information about the candidate and the spouse so that the EMS Dean can initiate the first contact with the non-EMS College, any involved EMS department or unit, and with the Provost.

Matching Funds. The matching funds are as follows:

Spousal Hire outside of EMS:

EMS Unit	EMS College	Provost	Non-EMS College
1/6	1/6	1/3	1/3

Spousal Hire within EMS involving two different units:

EMS Initiating Unit	EMS College	EMS Spousal Unit	Provost
2/9	2/9	2/9	1/3

Spousal Hire Within the same EMS unit:

EMS Unit	EMS College	Provost
1/3	1/3	1/3

The dollar contributions are permanent unless the individual leaves the position or the position is otherwise negotiated. The success of this procedure depends on the willingness of the EMS department to provide the initial contribution to the spousal salary and the willingness of other units to offer a position once the financial incentive is provided. Financial inability is a sufficient criterion for limiting spousal appointments.

RETENTION OF TENURE-TRACK FACULTY:

Pennsylvania State University policy does not cover spousal support for faculty related to retention. Only in special circumstances, and when money is available, will the University consider contributing financial support to achieve a spousal hire for the sake of retention. However, EMS is willing to explore spousal faculty positions in cases required to retain tenure-track faculty. However, the lack of University level commitment necessitates a larger EMS commitment and our ability to facilitate spousal hires will be very different within EMS as compared to within non-EMS units.

There are two cases:

Spousal appointments outside of EMS. In the rare cases of a University commitment, the College, the University and the non-EMS unit will each provide 1/3 of the spousal salary if the non-EMS unit is willing to support the spousal hire. In the more likely case of no University commitment, the College and the EMS unit may offer to provide ½ of the spousal salary using temporary funds for a period of 3-5 years to a non-EMS unit. The objective is to enable the non-EMS unit to gain knowledge about the spouse and their capabilities with the hope that a more permanent relationship can be developed. Should the non-EMS unit place the spouse on the tenure-track, EMS can consider a 1/3 contribution on a permanent basis.

Spousal appointments within EMS. In rare cases of University commitment, the College and the associated units will provide 2/3 of the spousal salary. In the more likely case of no University commitment, the College will facilitate a 3-5 year term appointment hire within the College. During this period, the fixed term faculty member will be subject to regular review and mentoring. Prior to the end of the 3-5 year term, the faculty within this unit will vote on the transfer of this individual to a tenure-track position within the unit. This vote will be based on the accumulated record of research, teaching and service. During the 3-5 year term appointment, the College will provide up to 1/3 of the salary if the department provides the remaining 2/3 of the salary commitment. After the 3-5 year term, the College commitment will be maintained only if the individual joins the tenure track or is tenured. Extending the term appointment will be at the discretion of the department or unit and can also be negotiated.

As part of the litmus test for determining departmental and College commitment, the unit must have evidence that there is (a) a reasonable potential for the success of the individual to move to the tenure track given time and mentoring and (b) that the length of the term enables the unit to plan ahead so that they can garner sufficient resources to provide a firm commitment to the individual. These two points are the key justification for the 3-5 year term appointment.

Salary levels for EMS term appointments shall be negotiated by the unit head as long as they are within the norms for the College for term appointments. However, EMS units should take into consideration the future of the individual and ensure that the salary level is appropriate for the level and type of work which is expected (research, teaching and service). An ideal situation is to negotiate a term appointment based on 36 weeks with a salary which reflects a set of responsibilities typical for a new faculty member. Other options can be considered based on the specific desires of the individual. The job responsibilities should be an explicit part of the negotiation. If the individual has the potential to join the tenure-track, then the department has the obligation to encourage and then provide opportunities for teaching and service as well as research so the individual can be fully evaluated by the faculty.

Initiation of the process. The process of initiating a spousal hire associated with retention involves the following steps and rules: (1) The process must be initiated at the level of the Department Head or Institute Director. (2) The EMS unit must provide the initial financial support for the spousal hire. (3) The EMS contribution must be formally requested by the EMS unit head, and must include sufficient information about the candidate and the spouse so that the EMS Dean can initiate the first contact with the non-EMS College, any involved EMS department or unit, and with the Provost.

Matching Funds. In every case for which a College-level contribution is requested for a spousal appointment, the College will match the contribution offered by the department up to 1/3 of the spousal salary. Financial support from the College beyond 3-5 years for term appointments should not be expected, but can be negotiated.

Again, the success of this procedure depends on the willingness of the EMS department to provide additional spousal funds and the willingness of the non-EMS unit or department to offer a position once the financial incentive is provided. The financial commitment required from the College increases substantially in any case in which there are no additional funds from the University. Faculty must also recognize that the financial commitment required from the non-EMS unit increases in such cases, and therefore, there is a greater potential that an offer will not be forthcoming. Clearly, there is a benefit to recognizing spousal situations at the start of the process of negotiations with prospective candidates since the University has specific incentives in place for cases of recruitment but not for retention.

Financial inability is a sufficient criterion for limiting the number of term appointments or for negotiating alternative appointments (e.g. research funds only).

NON-FACULTY LEVEL SPOUSAL APPOINTMENTS:

No incentives are provided at the University level for spousal appointments that are outside of the tenure-track and EMS College-level support is predicated on the potential of the individual to achieve tenure-track or tenured status. Support from the College for non-tenure track appointments should not be expected, but can be negotiated.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Spousal hires within departments can lead to potential conflicts of interest (e.g. one spouse supervising another). Effort should be applied to ensure that conflicts of interest are avoided.