Office of the Provost & Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dual Career Information for Lehigh Faculty

You are here

  1. Home
    2. »
  2. Faculty Affairs
    3. »
  3. Faculty Hiring
    4. »
  4. Dual Career Information for Lehigh Faculty

Overview

Lehigh University recognizes that many faculty members have partners who are also seeking jobs at or near Lehigh, and that the success of their partner’s job search may have an impact on the faculty member’s decisions about whether to join, or stay at, Lehigh. We are therefore committed to working to respond to the needs of dual-career couples. Although we cannot guarantee placement, we will do all we can to help partners of faculty members to find jobs, whether at Lehigh or elsewhere within commuting distance. The office of the Provost can help faculty members’ partners explore:

  • Faculty and staff positions at Lehigh
  • Faculty and staff positions at other colleges and universities in the region
  • Positions in industry, healthcare, and other sectors in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas

In some cases, the Provost’s office will provide temporary funding to departments and colleges at Lehigh that are considering hiring a faculty member’s partner into a faculty position.

A note about terminology: In the discussion below, we refer to the faculty member being recruited as the primary hire and their department as the primary department. We refer to their partner’s department as the partner department.

Partners need not be legally married to be eligible for dual-career support.

 

Dual-Career Networks

Lehigh is a member of the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC), a consortium of 6 schools in the region. We maintain a close relationship with our LVAIC partners and can sometimes identify promising job opportunities for partners at other LVAIC schools.

Inside Higher Ed also has a dual career search feature that we encourage you to explore.

If Your Partner Is Seeking a Staff Position

The University maintains a list of open staff positions at Lehigh on the Careers at Lehigh page. Faculty partners are invited to apply for positions that match their credentials and career goals. In many cases a search for a partner position is facilitated by scheduling an informational discussion with the Talent Acquisition team in HR, which can help partners navigate the system and assess positions they may be interested in. 

If Your Partner Is Seeking an Industry Position Outside of Lehigh

If the partner of the primary hire is seeking a position in industry or a non-university non-profit (such as in health care) faculty and staff at Lehigh may be able to help make connections or better understand opportunities that may exist within the region. The Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas have experienced significant economic growth, especially in the health, logistics, professional services and manufacturing sectors. Many companies in the region are looking to hire, although of course those looking in specific industries or for very specific roles may experience more challenges in finding the “perfect” job. 

If Your Partner Is Seeking a Faculty Position

Because of the specificity often seen in faculty searches and hiring, this is typically the most difficult type of dual-career situation to manage, but we will do all we can to help. If you are a candidate for a Lehigh faculty position, or are already an incoming or new faculty member at Lehigh, and want to discuss dual-career opportunities for your partner, please contact the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs (DPFA), who will meet with the you and/or your partner to learn more about your partner’s expertise and the type of position they are seeking. The DPFA will then work with your partner to explore positions at Lehigh, the LVAIC schools, and other schools in the region. 

If you are more comfortable doing so, you can mention your dual-career situation to the Chair of the department you are being recruited into, or to the faculty recruitment ambassador who meets with you in coordination with your on-campus interview. The Chair or ambassador can put you in touch with the DPFA to discuss further. 

We encourage you to contact the DPFA as early as possible, especially if you are currently at the interviewing and/or offer stage of the recruitment process.The DPFA will keep your request confidential and will not notify your potential department without your permission. 

If your partner seems to be a good candidate for a faculty position at Lehigh, the DPFA will contact the Dean of both the primary and partner colleges, as well as the relevant Department Chairs. 

Faculty hires of partners generally must align with the needs and goals of the university, college, and/or department, e.g., as articulated in the unit’s future hiring plans. New faculty positions will typically not be created for the purpose of hiring a faculty partner.

If the partner department decides that the partner is an excellent candidate for a planned tenure-track faculty position that is likely to be recruited for soon (typically within the next 3 years), the department may decide either to (1) interview the partner and then decide whether to extend an offer to them, or (2) recommend a national search for the position earlier than originally planned, for which the partner will be a candidate. In the latter case, the partner may be offered a Visiting Faculty position until the tenure-track search has been completed. 

Provost’s Office Bridge Funding

In dual-faculty-hire situations, the departments in question (the primary department and the partner department) may request bridge funding from the Provost’s office. Bridge funding is meant to be provided on a transitional basis, and is not guaranteed. Details will be negotiated by the departments/colleges and the Provost on a case-by-case basis.

Bridge funding from the Provost’s office is limited and may not be available to support all requests.

Procedures for Hires of Partners into Faculty Positions

Non-Tenure-Track Positions

If the partner is being considered for a non-tenure-track position (Adjunct Faculty, Visiting Faculty, Teaching Faculty, Research Faculty, or Professor of Practice), the departments and colleges involved should proceed as follows.

  1. Evaluation of the potential candidate: The partner department reviews the partner’s CV, letters of reference, and any other relevant materials such as course syllabi.
  2. Funding: Non-tenure-track positions may be funded in one of two ways:
  3. Interviewing and hiring:
  • For adjunct positions: An adjunct faculty appointment for a faculty partner will follow the normal college procedures for hiring adjunct faculty.
  • For other non-tenure-track positions: Appointment requires approval of the Dean and Department Chair for the partner department, as well as the faculty members of the department. (For details about which faculty members participate, consult R&P; reach out to the DPFA with any questions.) The partner department submits to the Dean a Dual Career Hiring Proposal, which must be approved by the Dean and Provost prior to the interview. The following information must be included in the Dual Career Hiring Proposal:

    • Faculty Employment Request Form, including the job descriptionAn explanation of how the university will benefit from the appointment and how the proposed appointment fits within the priorities of the partner department/college

    • The CV and reference letters of the individual under consideration

    • A brief outline of the plan for interviewing the candidate

    • A statement indicating the proposed salary, as well as the source(s) and amount of funds

Tenure-Track Positions

If the partner is being considered for a tenure-track position (Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor), the departments and colleges involved should proceed as follows.

  1. ​Evaluation of the potential candidate: The partner department reviews the partner’s CV, letters of reference, and any other relevant materials such as course syllabi.
  2. Funding: As noted above, whether the partner department decides to hire the partner into a tenure-track position, or as a Visiting Professor with the intention of conducting a national search, the primary and partner departments/colleges may request bridge funding from the Provost. This should be discussed with the Provost before submitting a hiring proposal.
  3. Dual Career Hiring Proposal: The partner department submits to the Dean a Dual Career Hiring Proposal; the Dean forwards the proposal to the Provost, and both the Dean and Provost must approve the proposal prior to the interview. The following information must be included in the Dual Career Hiring Proposal: 
  4. Interviewing and hiring: If the Dean and Provost approve the Dual Career Hiring Proposal, the partner department conducts a full on-campus interview with the potential candidate, following the required format for the position. The candidate’s qualifications are evaluated using criteria appropriate to the proposed position and credentials required in the field. The department should follow standard procedures in making the recommendation for appointment to the Dean or Provost. Standard review and appointment procedures will be used, as indicated in R&P, including in the case in which the appointment will involve tenure-on-hire.

This website was last updated on 11/8/24.