My husband and I work at the same place, and now he's being fired. Now what?

January 3, 2008 8:24 AM

Two academics, married to each other, at the same liberal arts college. One has been---unjustly and unwarrantedly---not recommended for reappointment. We're planning to appeal, but I'm not sanguine about the outcome. How bad is this likely to get, politically? Any advice?

My husband and I both work at the same liberal arts college. I'm up for tenure this year (and think I'm likely to get it, although my faith in the process has been severely shaken by the following saga). My husband was hired a couple years later than I was. He had some teaching-related issues his first couple of years, and received a stern warning review last January. He took steps to fix the teaching issues during spring of last year, but had some of the same issues appear in the courses he taught last fall (before the review letter). There was no follow-up from the Dean's office regarding the bad review.

This year (having foolishly decided to take a year of credit before the bad review, and then not being allowed to reverse that decision) he was up for review again. Near as we can tell, the promotion and tenure committee ignored the work he'd done last spring to improve his teaching, focussing more on the bad student evaluations from last fall (i.e., before the bad review)...long story short, they recommend he not be reappointed, despite a positive recommendation from the department. He's planning to proceed on the appeals process at the school, but at this point I don't think the administration will pay any attention (they probably won't be willing to admit they made a mistake).

Any advice on how to handle this? How bad is the fallout likely to be from pursuing the appeals process? Suppose it escalates to needing to sue (as a tenured friend of ours at the school suggests)? Is it likely to be ok for me to continue working at the school, assuming that I do get tenure? (After all, someone needs a permanent job...and we've got kids and a house, so picking up and moving would be more complicated that it might otherwise be.)

posted by anonymous to work & money (14 comments total)

Suing should be a last resort, in my opinion. Suing the university will basically end your husband's career on the spot, regardless of whether or not he actually gets his job back.

I'm not in an academic environment, but if this were me instead of your husband, I'd go forward with the appeal. At that point, I would do the following:
1) Acknowledge that challenges were identified in my performance, and take responsibility for them.
2) Demonstrate concrete steps I had taken to improve on the challenges identified,
3) Point out other strong contributions I had made or currently make in other areas of the university (basically, indicate why losing me would be a bad prospect for the institution)
4) Ask for an opportunity to demonstrate that I have "shaped up" and can begin the process of winning back the institution's trust.

Your hubby might also ask around in his department to see if someone there can vouch for him.

As for you and your career - if he sues, I would think your position would be made more difficult, but it might not be totally unworkable, especially if you're in different fields.

I hope this helps, and good luck!
posted by LN at 9:04 AM on January 3 [1 favorite]

The people I know of who have sued and won (usually for really grotesque and blatant harassment and bias issues -- I don't know anyone personally who sued in a more regular case, like your husband's) all left after winning their lawsuits. Maybe because the place was so hostile, maybe because they could afford to after winning the lawsuit, I don't know. But I guess the point is that those kinds of lawsuits can get really ugly, and bridges will be burned. Most people I have known of who were facing similar situations chose to find a new job and move on -- even if you win the suit, you can be tarred as "uncollegial" and basically blacklisted in the field.

This is a situation where I think you would be really well served by talking with a lawyer who specializes in academic cases, well before you make the decision about whether or not to sue. Certainly you shouldn't be basing such an important decision on anecdotes from AskMe, helpful as we all want to be. And honestly, probably both of you should go on the market sooner rather than later -- he will have more trouble finding a new job if he has a "gap year," and you will have more leverage with the college if you have outside offers. Think of it as a parallel process to the promotions appeal, maybe.
posted by Forktine at 9:04 AM on January 3

Time to do the job search all over again. You might have a commuter marriage for a few years. Or he can look for nonfaculty work in your area.

I don't see anything unjust or unwarranted in the school-level P&T committee focusing on all-but-one semesters instead of one semester of improvement. That's unfortunate and unkind, but probably entirely within their purview.

I certainly would not waste several tens of thousands of dollars filing suit to keep a probably not-great-paying job and almost certainly losing given the heavy paper trail against him.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:17 AM on January 3

He might be better off by putting his energy into getting a good reference letter from his department and going somewhere else. Does he really want to work somewhere that doesn't want him? Damage control should be the priority, and leaving on good terms will help him at his next position.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:33 AM on January 3

Honestly, given the information presented in your question, I think he should treat this as a (painful) learning experience and move on to a new job.

He had some teaching-related issues his first couple of years, and received a stern warning review last January. He took steps to fix the teaching issues during spring of last year, but had some of the same issues appear in the courses he taught last fall (before the review letter).

So basically he has been teaching at this school what—3 or 4 years? And the majority of his semesters of teaching have had (as you described them) "issues", even after being given a warning?

Most academic positions are highly competitive to land, with a glut of applicants for each position. From the College's standpoint, why should they grant tenure to (or keep in a tenure-track position -- I can't tell which) a faculty member who is not excelling at their primary purpose—teaching students?

He should own up to his weaknesses, get a recommendation from his department, and start fresh somewhere else. And he should recognize that, for better or worse, student evaluations are what they are—no matter how hard he has "[taken] steps to fix [his] teaching issues", if the evaluations do not improve, that this is a reflection of their experience in his classroom.

(IANAnAcademic, but I have been through a liberal arts education with very good (and very bad) professors)
posted by misterbrandt at 10:03 AM on January 3 [3 favorites]

I think your first action would be to contact your AAUP rep and get further advice about the politics of the institution.

I was denied promotion and tenure last year but was renewed on my contract. The logic was I went up a year early and while my peers thought I was good, I hadn't done enough to get P&T. This year I got it. I did what the committee told me to do and I got it.

If he's followed his committees recommendations and they still denied him tenure, there could be grounds for an appeal. Sadly though, the most you may get is that he "didn't fit with the department."

As for you, keep your mouth shut. Say you're disappointed at the most. Don't discuss with your colleagues about his situation, don't give opinions about how he was robbed. Stay quiet and continue to do an excellent job. I have seen situations where one faculty spouse was problematic and denied renewal and the other spouse, while not denied renewal, was encouraged to leave.

Good luck.
posted by teleri025 at 10:12 AM on January 3

I don't see anything unjust or unwarranted in the school-level P&T committee focusing on all-but-one semesters instead of one semester of improvement.

That's the crux of it there: Your husband has mostly been bad at his job. That's unfortunate, that's sad, and I'm sure he's working hard (and maybe even succeeding) at improving the situation. But somebody whose track record is primarily unsatisfactory has not been "unjustly and unwarrantedly" overlooked. It's admirable that you are so loyal to each other, but don't let it blind you to the decision-making process that any reasonable committee would have to follow in a competitive situation.

You can reasonably appeal, though I'd be surprised if the decision got changed. Suing will both antagonize your employer and make you feel worse after you lose the case.
posted by anildash at 10:49 AM on January 3 [1 favorite]

The original poster is aware of this, but other readers and commenters may need to be reminded that academic promotion and tenure review is a process with many peculiarities all its own, and analogies to other jobs are often too flawed to be useful. For instance, anildash and misterbrandt both refer to teaching as the "primary" responsibility being evaluated in the husband's review, but (even at a liberal-arts college) this is not necessarily the case – teaching, service, and research may be more or less heavily weighted by the particular institution in question.

I think ROU_Xenophobe and teleri025 are both right: you should both be back on the job market for the next couple of years, and you (the anonymous asker) should distance yourself as much as possible, in your colleagues' eyes, from, and keep quiet about, your husband's review and appeal (and possible suit). Talking to a lawyer now might not be a bad idea, but my instinct would be that any suit, indeed any intimation you've even talked to a lawyer, should if possible wait until after your tenure review. I've known a few academics who successfully sued to get their jobs back and stayed at the institution, but it will alienate many of your colleagues even if successful and should probably be viewed as a last resort once all other, more "collegial" bridges have been burned.
posted by RogerB at 11:14 AM on January 3

To add: I have seen a lot of successful appeals of these kinds of decisions (many, many more than lawsuits). There can be all kinds of grounds for an appeal, from procedural to substantive issues of interpretation. The story you told here is not on its surface a compelling one of injustice, but in the details may actually be a very strong case for your husband. A not-uncommon result is what teleri025 described -- a "let's revisit this next year" respite, with a road map of what you have to do in that year to fix the problems.
posted by Forktine at 11:27 AM on January 3

I don't see anything unjust or unwarranted in the school-level P&T committee focusing on all-but-one semesters instead of one semester of improvement. That's unfortunate and unkind, but probably entirely within their purview.

I agree. Now, I haven't been in academics for three decades and never even came close to worrying about tenure, but it seems to me that even if your husband can make a good case, as Forktine suggests, your treating it as an open-and-shut "unjust and unwarranted" decision is counterproductive, as most objective observers will disagree and dismiss what you have to say. You'd be better off acknowledging that they were within their rights based on his track record, but that you think they should consider other factors as well. Sounding sensible and objective (even if you don't feel that way, and how could you?) can make a big difference. Good luck!
posted by languagehat at 12:12 PM on January 3

Let me rephrase myself: the P&T committee's actions might well have been unjust and unwarranted, but the paper trail that's been established will make things very hard. Even if they were unfair, it will be difficult to convince others that they were.

I went through something not too dissimilar. After I (foolishly) mentioned that for family reasons I was going back on the market, my productivity improved and my annual evaluations suddenly became harsh and cautionary. After getting dinged, I got a bunch of interviews and took a better job. Things can work out.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:55 PM on January 3

I hate to say this, but: if they are firing your husband, you probably need to consider the possibility that you will end up with a terminal contract instead of tenure. The school is probably very aware that their actions with your husband would result in an angry partner. Do they want the angry partner on the faculty forever, with the spouse trailing? Like another poster above, I worked at an institution that parted with a stronger spouse (by encouraging the person to go back on the market) rather than holding on to the weaker one as part of a couple.

As for suing, the academic community is so small that I would think it would negatively affect both of your job possibilities. Schools are willing to take a chance on someone who didn't get tenure, but probably not someone who may seem sue-happy in the prospective employer's eyes.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:27 PM on January 3

Is your husband in academia because he enjoys researching his topic, or because he enjoys teaching students? If it's the former, a good idea would be looking into a research-only position. It depends heavily on the area of study he's in, obviously, but there are a lot of research positions in the private and non-profit sector.
posted by Deathalicious at 3:12 PM on January 3

Suing should be a last resort, in my opinion. Suing the university will basically end your husband's career on the spot, regardless of whether or not he actually gets his job back.

And if he's had a majority of problematic semesters after three years, your lawsuit will go nowhere (unless there's something you've left out, they're not wronging your husband) and then you'll have to deal with the legal bills and the reputation that you're sue-happy.
posted by oaf at 9:06 AM on January 8