CONTACT:
Erin Hennessy, ACE
(202) 939-9367
erin_hennessy@ace.nche.edu

$1.25 Million Awarded to Implement, Expand Faculty Career Flexibility Initiatives

Despite Economic Pressures, Campuses Continue to Emphasize Career Flexibility, Work/Life Balance

Washington, D.C. (Sept. 10, 2009)—The American Council on Education (ACE) today announced six recipients of the 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Faculty Career Flexibility: Albright College (PA), Bowdoin College (ME), Middlebury College (VT), Mount Holyoke College (MA), Oberlin College (OH), and Washington and Lee University (VA). 

Each award of $200,000 will enable the institutions to expand and enhance flexible career paths for faculty. The 2009 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Faculty Career Flexibility recognize baccalaureate colleges for their leadership and accomplishments in implementing groundbreaking policies and practices supporting career flexibility for tenured and tenure-track faculty. The awards program is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and conducted by ACE. 

In addition, Dickinson College (PA) and Smith College (MA) will receive $25,000 awards in recognition of innovative practices in career flexibility. All eight awards will be formally presented during ACE's Board of Directors meeting on Sept. 14 in Washington, DC.

"Campuses across the country are grappling with the economic downturn and making difficult decisions about how best to deploy their resources," said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. "The dedication these eight campuses have shown to advancing faculty career flexibility options in light of these economic conditions is admirable. These efforts send a clear message to faculty that their institutions are committed to attracting and serving the needs of an increasingly diverse faculty."

"Since the inception of the awards program, we have seen remarkable changes on campuses with much greater awareness of the need for career flexibility, as well as significant advances in practice," said Kathleen Christensen, program director for Workplace, Work Force and Working Families at The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The awards program was open to the 287 institutions defined in the 2008 Carnegie Classifications as baccalaureate-arts and sciences institutions. Applicants were evaluated in a two-part process. During the first round, tenured and tenure-track faculty completed an institutional survey about career flexibility. The second round included a faculty survey and an institution-wide accelerator plan for the development and use of career flexibility programs among faculty. Among the issues considered were faculty recruitment and retention; strengthening faculty commitment, engagement, and morale; achieving institutional excellence; and maintaining academic competitiveness in a global market. In all, 60 colleges participated in the first round survey and 30 advanced to the second round of competition. 

"These baccalaureate institutions are at the forefront of providing career flexibility to their faculty," said Claire Van Ummersen, ACE vice president, Center for Effective Leadership. "These awards will assist in the full development and implementation of critical management policies that are part of a growing national trend and will assist in the recruitment and retention of valued faculty."

Descriptions of the recipients' proposals are below:

• Albright College will address faculty issues by analyzing faculty work load, governance responsibilities, and promotion and tenure criteria, and how these variables affect faculty members' work/life balance. Additionally, Albright will establish a shared position policy. A database pulling on the prior two years' usage of flexibility will be developed and monitored.
• Bowdoin College will continue its work to accommodate partners using half-time tenure-track positions, job sharing for academic couples, and a "research associate" title for partners seeking an institutional affiliation. Bowdoin recently re-apportioned committee and governance responsibilities to promote a better balance between teaching, service and scholarship.
• Middlebury College will extend its "associate status" program, currently offered to faculty phasing into retirement or pursuing demanding scholarly activities, to new faculty parents. Middlebury also plans to develop a "clipping service" or RSS feed on a new work/life web site that will highlight significant articles or new initiatives to increase awareness about work/life strategies.
• Mount Holyoke College will increase the attractiveness of phased retirement for senior faculty by consolidating several flexibility options into a standard comprehensive work plan for phasing faculty. Additionally, the dean will provide monies for faculty to keep their research going during and after a family leave.
• Oberlin College will promote their generous policies, such as full-paid maternity leave for full- and part-time faculty, temporary shifts to part-time appointments for dependent care, and tenure clock extensions. Oberlin also will incorporate discussion of career flexibility into its junior mentoring program. 
• Washington and Lee University recently launched a study of key issues related to work-life balance in relation to expectations for teaching and research. The resulting initiatives will provide more options for child care, offer technological alternatives to compensate for necessary time away from campus, and create a culture of acceptance for flexible career trajectories that are different from the more rigid timetables for tenure and promotion of the past.
• Dickinson College will enhance its Faculty Career Cycle Program to include support for faculty dealing with health and family issues. The Career Cycle Program is currently limited to faculty who are completing a period of intense, significant service to the college and are returning to their teaching and scholarship activities.
• Smith College has established a Center for Work and Life that focuses on the challenges of negotiating career, family responsibilities, and personal well-being. Faculty report that one of the most challenging aspects of work-life balance is caring for an aging parent. The Center for Work and Life will develop a model for eldercare support, including a comprehensive web site with referral information, local support groups, and information on new research findings.

A panel of recently retired college and university presidents and chancellors reviewed and rated the plans, including Ann H. Hasslemo, former president of Hendrix College (AR); Stanton Hales, former president of College of Wooster (OH); Barbara Hill, former president of Sweet Briar College (VA); Richard Kneedler, president emeritus of Franklin and Marshall College (PA); and Bette Landman, former president of Arcadia University (PA).

Previous rounds of Sloan Awards honored research extensive and intensive universities in 2006 and master's colleges and universities in 2008.

###

Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and influence public policy through advocacy, research, and program initiatives.

The  Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, established in 1934, makes grants to support original research and broad-based education related to science, technology, and economic performance; and to improve the quality of American life. It has played a vital role in developing the field of work-family scholarship through its Workplace, Work Force and Working Families program. In 2002, the foundation established the Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Faculty Career Flexibility to raise awareness throughout higher education.