Faculty granted semester of paid parental leave

by Jessica Howard

Beginning July 1, faculty members who are new parents -- either as birth or adoptive mothers, fathers or declared domestic partners -- will be granted one semester of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child.

"This is one of the most progressive policies in the country," said Linda Manning, director of the Margaret Cuninggim Women's Center and co-chair of the Women's Faculty Organization at Vanderbilt. WFO researched and pushed for such a policy over the past 10 years. "The [WFO] hopes the policy will help us recruit the talent we need at Vanderbilt, and will also promote a family-friendly environment."

Manning said the new policy encourages men to be involved in the primary care of the child.

The benefits of this policy are extended to full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty members who serve in University Central. Staff members already have a mechanism in place to take parental leave by using sick leave, vacation leave and the Family Medical Leave Act benefits. This policy was needed for faculty as they do not accrue sick or vacation time, said Patricia Marett, director of business operations for the vice chancellor of administration. The Medical Center is considering a similar policy for its faculty.

The new policy states that the parental leave benefit may be utilized up to three times by an individual family member. If both mother and father or domestic partners are faculty members, only one parent is eligible for paid leave.

Simultaneous adoptions or multiple births -- such as twins or triplets -- count as one leave event. The policy will grant a paid leave not to exceed an additional six weeks should more than three children be born or adopted.

Previously, there was no option in place to guarantee a faculty member would be allowed a semester leave, said Manning.

The Faculty Senate unanimously approved the recommended policy March 14, which was approved by Chancellor Gordon Gee shortly thereafter.

"The Faculty Senate wisely recognized the need to address this area of faculty life and brought it to the attention of the administration. They showed similar wisdom in drafting and unanimously approving a policy that makes Vanderbilt a leader among its peers in the area of faculty parental leave," said Gee.

"Our provost, vice chancellors and deans fully support this policy that brings some long-needed clarity to the matter of leave for birth mothers and new parents," he said. "It is a policy whose time has come, certainly, but it also gives us one more advantage in our efforts to recruit and retain the best and most diverse faculty to our University. I applaud the tireless efforts of the Women's Faculty Organization in keeping this issue on the front burner."

In addition to receiving paid leave, faculty members who are on the tenure track can essentially freeze time and receive a 12-month extension of the tenure clock.

The parental leave agreement stipulates the following terms:

* Certification by the faculty member that the purpose of the leave will be to serve as the primary caregiver for their child during the period of leave or for faculty on nine-month appointments to recapture time spent as the primary caregiver during the preceding summer.

* Certification that the leave period will not be used to actively pursue other employment opportunities or to work full- or part-time for another employer.

* The anticipated start and end of the leave period.

* The relationship between the parental leave provided under the policy and the Family and Medical Leave Act, and, where relevant the Tennessee Maternity Leave Act.

* The commitment to return to active status for at least an equivalent period immediately following the paid parental leave.

* For tenure-track faculty, the revised schedule of intermediate and major promotion and tenure reviews.

In weighing the proposal, the leadership of the Faculty Senate asked if parental leave would prove to be too expensive. That is probably not the case, according to the report issued by the Faculty Senate. In the past five years, only 11 women in University Central have taken a leave related to childbirth, Associate Provost Virginia Scott told the Faculty Senate in October 2001. Although this statistic does not take into consideration fathers and domestic partners, Scott said the institutions she researched did not see a surge in leave requests once similar policies were established.

"The actual financial impact of this policy is likely to be small," according to the authors of the report. "Although this proposal broadens the potential candidates for paid leaves, the total number of leaves is still likely to be quite small."