The ability for colleges and universities to attract and retain top job candidates often depends on also finding a position for the so-called “trailing” spouse or partner – together they are referred to as a “dual-career couple”.
Representatives from 31 colleges and universities in Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia met last week to formally launch a new cooperative job-posting service that helps dual-career couples find positions in academia, while assisting institutions in landing the best candidates.
The new tri-state regional section of the national Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC), based at Case Western Reserve University, provides dual-career couples a resource for information about job openings within a reasonable commuting distance of one another.
The network mainly serves dual-career couples in higher education, but also offers information about other professional career opportunities.
The new website, www.ohwpawvherc.org, is live.
More than a third of university faculty nationally have a spouse or partner who also works in academia. Another 36 percent have a partner employed outside of higher education.
“HERC is an exciting organization that connects colleges, universities, public and private organizations to recruit diverse and seasoned candidates to fill open positions,” said Brenda Feasel, Human Resource Director at Marion Technical College. “This partnership also assists candidates to help their spouse or partner find viable employment opportunities either within the same organization or with a collaborating partner. HERC is a win-win for both employers and candidates.”
Stepping forward as the lead institution for a new regional HERC was a natural extension of the groundbreaking work accomplished by the last 10 years of National Science Foundation (NFS) ADVANCE projects at Case Western Reserve. The NFS ADVANCE program develops a national science and engineering workforce that includes the full participation of women at all levels of faculty and academic leadership.
HERC is a nationwide, non-profit consortium of more than 600 colleges, universities, hospitals, research labs, government agencies and other organizations that advances member institutions’ ability to recruit and retain a diverse, talented workforce and to assist dual-career couples.
Consortium institutions, which pay a membership fee based on their size, share a commitment to hiring the most diverse and talented faculty, staff and executives. The decision to accept a job frequently becomes contingent upon an offer of job search assistance and opportunities for the candidate’s accompanying partner.
A steering committee comprised of Case Western Reserve, Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State and West Virginia universities and The LEADER Consortium spearheaded the development of the regional network.
For more information, contact Amanda Shaffer, director of the OH/Western PA/WV HERC, at 216.368.8874, or [email protected].
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