Dual Career Academic Partners Hiring Program (DCP)
The purpose of the Dual Academic Career Hiring Program (DCP) is to provide temporary University financial support from Academic Affairs to address the needs of dual career academic couples to support academic colleges/schools/departments in their efforts to recruit and retain the highest quality faculty to advance excellence through enhancing student success, research and academic distinction outlined in President’s Vision and Strategic Plan for UTSA. The DCP is designed to help partners of tenure-stream faculty to identify and pursue employment opportunities in our academic community. Please note that this program provides no guarantee of employment and the university is unable to help fund positions with area employers.
Focused on the recruitment of tenured/tenure-track (T/TT) faculty, the DCP, under certain circumstances, can facilitate the placement of faculty partners in academic positions on campus and, in some cases where approved, provide initial temporary financial support for the academic position. It is anticipated that most DCP partner hires will involve appointment to a T/TT faculty position using the Special Opportunities Hiring mechanism. To be eligible for a T/TT DCP faculty position through this mechanism, the partner must demonstrate the level of excellence that is expected of candidates identified through a regular search process. Although this program is geared primarily to appointments of T/TT faculty positions, compelling requests for partner appointments for academic professional and non-tenure stream faculty positions will be considered under limited and exceptional circumstances, and the funding plan will differ from that of T/TT hires.
For dual career services for non-academic employment and academic employment at other universities, the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Success can provide job search guidance and referrals to job networking contacts. In other cases, the dual career partner may be interested in and qualified for admission to a graduate, professional or undergraduate degree program. The Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Success will provide information and assistance in coordination with the appropriate campus offices. Admission cannot be guaranteed in advance of application and review through the appropriate department, school or undergraduate admissions process.
Partner and Position Identification Process:
The partner hire needs of a candidate should never be discussed or considered by the department in the selection process. Candidates for faculty positions should be considered on their individual merits without regard to marital or partner status. The challenges or opportunities associated with a partner hire must not be a factor in the decision to make an offer to a candidate.
As such during candidate recruitment, it is inappropriate to ask candidates during the interview process if (s)he has a partner or any question related to the partner’s situation. If the candidate mentions that (s)he has a partner who would be seeking academic employment, the candidate can be informed that the university has a Dual Career Academic Partners Program.
Once an offer to the candidate has been extended, it is acceptable to ask the candidate if there are other personal considerations regarding her/his potential move. When communicating about the DCP, it is important to set reasonable expectations and not overpromise or guarantee employment for the academic partner.
If the partner is interested in an academic position on campus, the Dean of the first unit (i.e., the unit that is either recruiting a new T/TT faculty candidate through a regular search process or trying to retain a current T/TT faculty member) is responsible for contacting the Dean of the appropriate unit for possible employment of the partner to discuss possible position(s).
Funding Model:
DCP is funded by the Strategic Priorities Fund under UTSA’s Incentivized Resource Management (IRM) budget model and process, and is administered by Academic Affairs. Temporary funding support for academic year salaries of up to $100,000 per hire (including benefits) is available for up to three years based on the formula below. A partner hire into a campus appointment is not an entitlement; the total amount of funding available each year is contingent on availability, prioritization by academic deans, and depends on the hires that have been made in the previous two years. In some cases, lesser levels of funding may be offered to maximize the number of hires under this program, and every partner hire must meet the qualifications and standard of excellence for the appropriate appointment.
The typical DCP funding model employed is:
| Initiative (Academic Affairs) | College/School/Department 1 | College/School/Department 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year One | 70% | 30% | 0% |
| Year Two | 50% | 15% | 35% |
| Year Three | 25% | 10% | 65% |
| Year Four | 0% | 0% | 100% |
At the conclusion of the shared funding commitment, the unit employing the partner will assume the full salary commitment of the employee, unless otherwise specified in the original agreement have been made.
Note that with resignation, termination, or retirement of an individual hired under this program, the funds allocated by the campus to the unit and by the requesting unit to the hiring unit will revert to the initial funding units. Note that funding does not automatically follow the individual. DCP funding is allocated not to help a person obtain employment, but rather for that person to perform a specific role that benefits a campus unit. If the employee changes positions during the period, the new hiring unit must initiate a new request.
DCP will be reviewed annually to ensure that it is being implemented in a manner that meets the strategic priorities outlined above.
Hiring Process:
Once a partner prospect and campus position has been identified, the next step is for the partner prospect to be evaluated by the second unit (i.e., the prospective academic college/department of the partner) through a process appropriate to the position. Evaluation will usually involve an interview, including a campus visit, reference letters and DFRAC review of the partner’s academic record.
After the partner prospect identification and evaluation process are complete, if both college deans agree to move forward, the Deans jointly submit to the Provost a written DCP proposal describing how the candidate’s background, experience and other qualifications will advance the University’s strategic priority of building on our distinctive cross-cutting innovations, as outlined in this Initiative and in President Eighmy’s Vision and Strategic Plan for UTSA that justify the search waiver.
Please include a funding plan that describes how the Colleges will meet the DCP financial requirements, throughout the DCP participation period and at the when the funding commitment ends.
Also describe the partner candidate vetting process, including how the candidate was reviewed by faculty and others prior to hire, and attach the preliminary offer letter, Source of Funds form, draft start-up support list and the individual’s CV. If more than one DCP proposal is submitted by a dean, provide the priority order of request in relation to other requests that have been submitted by the school or college.
Review:
DCP reviews are ongoing under the Special Opportunity Hiring mechanism, and will be completed as soon as is practicable. The Provost reviews the Deans written candidate nomination proposal, funding plan and required materials. If the proposal and funding plan are approved after discussion with the Dean, the nominated individual is approved as a candidate and the hiring process is then authorized to proceed per established Academic Affairs guidance. The Dean, in consultation with the relevant Department Chair, initiates the process of candidate review to hire in accordance with established guidelines prior to final negotiations.
