Life-Career Interface Initiative

Split Appointments

The UW-Madison has several policies designed to accommodate women in the academic system. These include: extensions on tenure clock for parental or other familial responsibilities; a program for hiring dual career couples; and support, expansion, and subsidies for campus childcare. There are two examples in the social sciences where the desire of two members of a couple to share one faculty position was accommodated. It appears that these programs have had little impact on the number of women faculty in the biological and physical sciences. Therefore, as described in the Evaluation Plan, it is critical to examine them in detail and make modifications where necessary, especially in science and engineering. The findings will have policy implications locally and nationally.