Sometimes Ohio University employees come as a package. When a prospect is offered a position at OU, it is not uncommon for the offeree to make it known that his or her spouse, significant other or partner is also in need of hire, said Bill Smith, executive assistant to the president for institutional equity.
The normal hiring procedure at OU is comprised of recruitment, formal advertising, screening, interviewing and hiring, Smith said. But he said, When OU has found a potential faculty member
for example that is highly sought after and the candidate has a partner in need of employment there is a mechanism whereby OU can forego normal hiring procedures to hire this superior candidate.
The mechanism -waiving the formal advertising process.
The Office of Institutional Equity, which is responsible for all hiring waivers at OU, can skip formal advertising of the position vacancy in order to immediately hire the candidate's partner.
Couple employments are referred to as dual careers.
However, the candidate's partner must possess the appropriate credentials that meet the needs of a position vacancy at OU, Smith said. We approve an exception to the process
not to the standards.
Even though some universities use dual careers as a recruitment tool, OU does not, Smith said.
Circumstances in which a waiver was approved in the past include: prospect requests partner's employment and the partner's credentials match an already-existing vacancy; prospect requests partner's employment and the partner's credentials match a future vacancy; or prospect requests partner's employment and a position is created for the partner.
But in no circumstance is the hiring department compelled to hire the partner
Smith said. We have lost some initial offerees because the partner's vita does not fit the vacancy.
Dual careers have become very common in the business world, specifically in higher education, he said.
OU is at an institutional disadvantage because other universities have (more) employment options in the area
Smith said. But OU is the primary employer in this vast area. Allowing a waiver makes the position more attractive to the candidate and accommodates to his or her needs.
The Dual Career Network, an employment search assistance program, is an organization that partners can use to find employment opportunities at OU and in the surrounding areas, said Nancy Crist, coordinator of the network. But, not all dual career hires go through the network.
Dual careers occur most often in faculty, Smith said. He estimated that 10 to 20 of every 100 hires of OU faculty are dual careers.
Interim Provost Kathy Krendl said an example of a dual career hire was the hire of Joe Bernt, journalism professor, and Phyllis Bernt, faculty senate chair.
Dee Dee Riffe, assistant dean of communications, and her husband, Daniel Riffe, journalism professor, were a dual career hire.
Many people omit the obvious
which is that a teacher or faculty at OU probably is married to a spouse of higher education and has similar interests as well
DeeDee Riffe said.
So it makes sense for couples to work at the same institution.
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