March 15, 2006 UC Families Newsletter Circulation: 696 Moderator: Karie Frasch email: ucfam@lists.berkeley.edu Website: http://parents.berkeley.edu/ucfamilies Post a Message: http://parents.berkeley.edu/post_ucfam.html MODERATOR NOTE: Our subscriber base for UC Families is continuing to grow, but more slowly outside of the bay area. If you are a subscriber at a non-Berkeley campus and know of others who may be interested please consider sending them the link to the website – http://parents.berkeley.edu/ucfamilies. ---------------------------------------------- Contents ---------------------------------------------- *Responses Original post: Babies matter – academia and family Original post: Changes to family accommodation policies for all UC ladder-rank faculty, effective immediately Original post: Getting SHIP (Blue Cross) to cover a home birth Original post: Leave Policy for Parents and New UC leave Policy *New postings Repost: Spousal employment Repost: Berkeley High for Village residents? Going back to school with children? PI's opinion Dealing with neighbor kids parents Relocating to UCSD-Need Info *News/media Part-Time Advocate? P.D. Lesko publishes a magazine for adjuncts, but stop telling her they're exploited Working It Out *New members Since 3/3/06 ---------------------------------------------- *Responses ---------------------------------------------- You can post additional responses at: http://parents.berkeley.edu/post_ucfam.html Original post: Babies matter – academia and family ----------------------------------------------------- I have very much enjoyed reading the variety of thoughtful responses that have been posted regarding my ‘Babies Matter’ questions. It reminds me how important it is to have a venue for discussions that highlight the complexity of these issues for women and men who want to combine childrearing and academia. Now that additional family accommodations have recently become available to faculty with caregiving responsibilities, it will be important to publicize them, and to ensure that faculty feel comfortable using them. I was surprised that few graduate students weighed in on the dialogue, particularly in light of the fact that they are the next generation of women and men who will continue into faculty positions or opt for other choices. Age timelines for the receipt of the PhD continue to extend, so that the median age at PhD is now 33, and the median age at tenure is now 39 years of age. As many of you pointed out, it is becoming less and less an option for women faculty to postpone childbearing until after tenure. We must then do more to make childbearing feel like, and be a viable choice at the graduate level, as we are working to do at the assistant professor level. I hope that we can continue to engage in discussion on these valuable topics. Mary Ann Mason Response: Do Babies' Matter/Same-Sex Families ------------------------------------------- Since Dean Mason pointed out that few graduate students have responded to her initial query, and since I am part of a queer family of two grad student parents, I thought I'd chime in. My partner and I decided that the post-orals period of grad school was as good a time as any to have a first child, as I was unwilling even to consider waiting until tenure to conceive. I gave birth just under a year after advancing to candidacy and have found that, overall, the challenges of parenting a young child have been more or less compatible with the challenges of researching and writing a dissertation. What made it all possible was the heavily-subsidized and generally high-quality UC childcare. Since my partner is also a graduate student, we never could have afforded private daycare. I would heartily endorse the opinion that all faculty, staff, and students need more spaces than are currently available and, equally importantly, that the ECEP be administered in a way that makes the admissions process more transparent and accessible. For example, I have friends who submitted applications years ago and assume, since they have not been contacted, that there are no spaces available. Time and time again, I have seen that unless a parent calls repeatedly and persistently, his/her application simply falls through the cracks. At any rate, in my experience, affordable and excellent child care are at the heart of the issue of ''balancing'' academic work and family. As for the same-sex family set of issues, I have found my department (History) to be a tolerant, laissez-faire place generally, and I have the full support of my advisor(s). I have also worked within Gender and Women's Studies, which is an exceptionally supportive environment for queer students, students parents, and queer parents. My daughter has always been the only child of same-sex parents in her daycare/preschool classes on campus, but teachers have been inclusive, responsive, and respectful. As a resident of UC Village, however, I have often felt that we must be the ''only ones'' and have sometimes felt isolated as a queer family. I wish that I had taken more initiative to organize same-sex families on campus and in the Village and would urge others in my position to solicit institutional support for fostering a community of queer parents. I am graduating in May and moving to Indiana to begin work as an assistant professor. As we consider the difficulties of having another child sometime in the next several years, I realize that grad school truly was a great time for us to begin our family and that Berkeley has been a wonderful community in which to do so. I feel fortunate to have received a job at a Catholic college as an out, queer mom, and genuinely hope that my experience becomes more the ''norm'' and less the ''exception'' in the near future. Amanda Response: Babies matter - academia and family ------------------------------------------- I can relate to all the female students that wondered when it is a good time to have kids when you plan a career in academia. I asked that question my self in my second or third years of my Ph.D. program and I was told I should wait until my postdoc because you really want to have good publications from your Ph.D.. I am happy to report that I didnt wait and I had my first baby during my fourth year. During my pregnancy and after I came back to work, I focused more than ever during work hours and focused on my baby while at home. I landed a good postdoc any way a few years later and decided I could not wait any longer to give my son a little sister, so I did. Comparing the two experiences I have to say that having a baby during grad school was somewhat different than as a postdoc. Nobody tells you what the rules are because there are none! I came back to work only six weeks after a C- section for my first baby just because I felt the pressure of coming back to the lab no body was saying anything out loud though -. As a postdoc, I had FMLA and sick and vacation days, so I stayed home a lot longer. Since graduate students are not considered staff -even though they receive a stipend from UC either from TAships or RAships-, they have no protection in such cases. Someone in my department even suggested that I did not need a stipend that quarter because I was going to have a baby luckily my advisors jumped in and did the right thing. I have to say that my mentors were in both cases extremely supportive. I can not say, however, if my formula was right since I havent started looking for permanent positions, but I am doing ok as far as publications go and I am extremely happy with my two kids. Happy Postdoc mother of two Response: Babies matter academia and family ------------------------------------------- Hi, I am a 6th year graduate student at Cal and I just had a baby girl 9 months ago. We are both 28 years old and my husband is a postdoc here at Cal. Graduate school is really a great time to have a baby as long as you have a supportive advisor and are ok with the fact that you are going to take longer to get your Ph.D. than the typical 5-years. I believe that no one is really going to look at your CV and ask you why you took 7 years in grad school versus 5. As long as you were productive during that time (a few papers would be great), you will be treated the same as those who took only 5. Additionally, since most people have more than one kid, you should start the process early so that you are young and still early in your career when you have very young children. I am no longer planning on going into academia (but that is another story!), but if I were I would plan to have my next child during my post doc. In truth, there is never an ''ideal'' time to have a baby, but there may be slightly better or worse times. No matter when you do it, you'll be thrilled with the experience. It's hard work and a lot of fun!!! grad mom Response: to Mary Ann Mason ------------------------------------------- Thanks again to Mary Ann Mason and to all the UC people that answered her posting. In response to Mary Ann's remark on graduate students, I wanted to give my two cents, on top of thanking her for all the research and hard work she has put into family matters these past years. I am a graduate student in the humanities in my fifth year, currently writing my dissertation. I am 34 and have two children. My overall opinion is that, whenever it is possible, it is ''easier'' to have kids while being a graduate student than afterwards, once on the tenure-track. I had my first daughter towards the end of my second semester in grad school. I resumed working, although not full time, the following fall, and had another baby two years later, right after my qualifying exams. The hardest thing was the first post-baby semester. I officially took a semester off from school to stop the normative time clock, although I kept ''unofficially'' working with my advisor. As an international student, being off for one semester also meant not having a student visa for six months: no health care, no job- permit, no possibility to teach on campus, no money whatsoever. Very hard, isolating and depressing. So hard that the second time around I did not take the semester off and taught, so as to have a salary and health care (even though my three-month-old did not seem to understand that to be both a good mother and a decent teacher I needed to sleep more than four hours a night). My take by now is that, although very hard to handle, having babies while in graduate school is a better option than waiting until when we get a job and start the tenure-track race. I do not know the job market first-hand yet, but the young professors around me are, in my opinion, much busier than I am, academically speaking. I have to mainly write my dissertation; when I do not have a fellowship to do that, I have to teach a class. Whereas they have to deal with administrative tasks, graduate students, committees, publishing, etc. All in all I think that the life of a graduate student allows a certain flexibility, and that this flexibility tends to disappear once one becomes a professor. After all, we are still students, and can afford to be considered as such. There are so many other factors that enter in the picture, and so many different situations; for example, many people prefer to wait until they have a certain financial stability to have a family, and graduate students clearly do not have many financial resources. I am lucky enough to have both kids enrolled in the UC (sliding fee) child-care system. As I see it, this is the ONLY way I can afford to be in graduate school while raising two kids (I have a friend who thanked her sons' teachers in her dissertation acknowledgements - think about it, they are the most important people for a working parent's mental stability). The support offered by the university to students parents, as well as faculty and staff parents, is in this sense fundamental, and needs to be made available to as many people as possible. It can turn an impossible dilemma into a viable choice. I am not saying my ''recipe'' is good for everyone. I am simply so glad I will not to have to deal with both a tenure clock and a newborn baby (or two) at the same time. Response: Babies matter academia and family ------------------------------------------- I am a graduate student, age 30, in my ninth and final year of a Ph.D. program at Berkeley (eight or nine is typical in my department). I had a child a year and a half ago, and I am extremely glad I didn't wait. I was able to take two months completely off without anyone even noticing and then return to work half-time+ for a few more months before jumping in full-time. And even then people were impressed with how quickly I got back to work. I was very fortunate in that I could rely on my husband's income for that period -- I didn't have a GSR or GSI position or fellowship for that first year -- and that he has been very supportive of my career overall, including by reducing his own work schedule to four days a week while I work (dissertate etc.) full time+. I don't think there is a better time than grad school to have a child as an academic, unless you expect to get tenure before 35. However, that doesn't mean it isn't exhausting and miserable much of the time. I am tireder than I have ever been in my life, and I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I consider giving the whole thing up literally daily. I also was not able to find a tenure-track position in my first foray on the job market, so I don't even know what I'm doing next year at this point. The hardest thing about all of this is that if you slow down, you're done. I am working my butt off to get articles out, go to conferences, etc. in the hopes of getting a tenure-track job next year because if I don't, what options do I have? A Ph.D. in my field isn't useless outside academia, but I would have to seriously rethink my career. I try to stay positive about the whole thing -- I know this is the problem of a very privileged person -- but I am very close to jumping off the whole track. A related issue for me is that I would like to have a second child, but have no idea how to time it. From a career perspective, I feel like being pregnant/having a new baby would be problematic 1) during a postdoc, 2) while interviewing for jobs, and 3) in the first year of a t-t position. That could be a number of years yet, and because of family history my fertility may end sooner than average. Ultimately, I'm going to choose having a second child above having an academic career. If luck goes my way, I can still do both, but it's far from a sure thing. I guess my fantasy world would be one in which it were possible to work half-time for a period and then get back on board the train. I have no desire to be a stay at home mom. What I'd really like is to be able to work thirty hours a week for the next few years without giving up the possibility of an academic career. I don't know, though, what kinds of policy changes would make that possible. Academia is competitive, and the jobs are going to continue to go to the people who work the hardest/most. In a way I think that's fair, but on the other hand, there's no question that it pushes a very large percentage of women off the track, or out of motherhood, and I don't know that that serves society well in the long run. One final thought -- I think that any solution has to make this about changing culture for everyone vs. making exceptions for women. The latter will just make women second-class citizens. I wish I had answers and not just complaints. But I do appreciate that Berkeley is trying to show leadership on this issue. Tired grad student mom Response: Babies matter academia and family ------------------------------------------- One very practical way for UC to be supportive childrearing during the postdoc years would be for UC to pay for health insurance. At UCSF, postdocs are required to carry health insurance, but the university does not require the department or the PI to pay for any of that coverage. Many postdocs end up having to pay their own way for health insurance both for themselves and their dependent children - a substantial cost. UCSF postdoc Response: maternity and career issues ------------------------------------------- I am reading your postings with great interest. I was a grad student at UCB in the 80's and received less than zero support for family issues (both childcare and parent care). It was dismal. I have maintained my anthropology career in teaching, and at Vista ( community college) I interviewed intially with a toddler in a stroller and myself at 5 months pregnant -- meaning I'd need to take a maternity leave in my first semester, and they said YES! Support out there is spotty at best, but there are some enlightened individuals and departments. Attitudes, even among senior women faculty, are quite variable. In fact, some of the greatest obstacles are tenured female faculty who somehow had it easy in the 1960's and now take it out on the current generation of academics. It is certainly not fair or predictable. Good luck to everyone, and believe in yourselves! Frieda Original post: Changes to family accommodation policies for all UC ladder-rank faculty, effective immediately -------------------------------------------------- On February 8, 2006, the President of the University of California announced major changes to family accommodation policies for ladder-rank faculty throughout the system. These changes, effective retroactively to January 1, 2006, provide for the first time, a comprehensive package of family friendly policies for women and men with caregiving responsibilities. One of the most significant changes to the family friendly package is the unambiguous message that faculty men and women, with substantial caregiving responsibilities, are entitled to the use of family accommodation policies, and may not be disadvantaged or prejudiced in promotions or advancement. The new family accommodations package is designed to support faculty over their life course. Birth mothers receive fully-paid childbearing leave. New parent caregivers, birth or adoptive, are entitled to a full term of ASMD; biological mothers receive a second term. The cost of replacement teachers is centralized to eliminate hardship for individual departments. Assistant professors who are new parents can automatically stop the tenure clock for one year (up to two years during the probationary period). All parents may at any time request up to a year of unpaid parental leave. And all faculty, pre- and post-tenure, may negotiate with their department to work part-time, temporarily or permanently, to accommodate their family needs. UC is now the leader among institutions of higher education in the United States on family friendly policies. While many other universities offer some of these policies, or additional ones we don’t have (such as a formal dual career program), none provide as comprehensive a package. What do you think about these changes? Do they go far enough? Will faculty feel safe using them when tenure and promotion are at stake? What must UC do to encourage faculty with caregiving responsibilities to take advantage of these policies? Will this persuade more women and men graduate students to pursue academic jobs at UC? Here is the link to the letter from President Dynes announcing the policies, and to the policy changes (the UC Families Newsletter is highlighted in his letter): http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/coordrev/policy/PP020806APMs.pdf -UC Families Moderator Response: changes for family ------------------------------------------- I welcome these changes which codify what I did informally (my husband teaches in Germany and we have a five year old son). I urge, however, that the policies are communicated very clearly to all faculty. Equally important is that department staff responsible for personnel plus the payroll office are properly trained. I have had trouble with my health insurance and/or with my paycheck every time I returned from a leave. Kathleen Response: UC Berkeley family policies ------------------------------------------- I am a single mom and graduate student, and want to weigh in on the issue of family-friendly policies at UCB. I am so glad to hear that the administration is responding to a critical need for relief from faculty with children and families. It is inspiring to know that changes are finally coming for faculty who have child rearing responsibilities. Sadly, my experience as a graduate student and parent have not been as inspiring. While I feel strongly that my department has a clear verbal and financial commitment to assisting student parents, and the head of the department is a kind and sensitive man, I recently had the experience of discovering that my own advisor wrote a ''letter of nonsupport'' to my qualifying exam committee because I didn't spend as much time in the lab as the other graduate students there. He has compared me to one of the postdocs, who has a baby--and a husband. My child is older, but I am a single parent and have no one else on whom to rely for childcare on sick days, or school performance days, field trips, etc. My child also has a health condition that will require major surgery--and we have been given two false alarms as to when this will take place. Everyone iin my department has been patient with me directly, but I feel the scrutiny building. Furthermore, I am being pressured to hurry up and finish my degree, when I am midway through my third year. Apparently, the powers in my department haven't heard about or are ignoring UC policy that gives an extra year of normative time to student parents. Can they possibly give 1.5 or 2 extra years for single parents, especially if the chld has a health condition? I have often felt that I should simply drop out, if only to relieve the pressure on me to get done with it. I was already a single parent when I began graduate school, and have heard people say that I knew what I was setting out to do would be difficult, and that it was my choice. I am just wondering why people feel that it's okay to be harder on people who were parents going into graduate school than those who become pregnant while in graduate school. Should being a parent a priori automatically preclude one from obtaining a PhD? Sheesh. wants a PhD in ''Mom-ology'' Original post: Leave Policy for Parents and New UC leave Policy ------------------------------------------- I have a question about the family accommodation policies for UC ladder-rank faculty. I'm a father-to-be at UCD and have requested my one quarter of active-service modified duties (My wife and I will be sharing childcare responsibilities). This will reduce my teaching load by one course (out of the usual four per year) and give me a break from service responsibilities. I want to make sure that I am requesting all that I am eligible for, while remaining on full-time status. (I am aware of the possibility of leaves without pay). Is there something else beyond the one quarter of active- service modified duties for new fathers? Thanks in advance for any advice. Ben Response: Leave for new faculty parents ----------------------------------------- In order to receive full pay, the one quarter of ASMD is the most you can get. If you take ASMD you’ll be eligible for a one-year extension on the tenure clock, which may relieve you of some research pressure during the first year of your child’s life. The other option is to consider going part-time for some period, which would be part-time pay but less responsibility. The part-time option is not new, but has been better defined and is more clearly an option now, with the new APM family accommodations (the description is in sections 220 and 760, including a detailed appendix in 220). I don’t believe that UCD has any policies that are more generous than the new system-wide ones. Hope this helps. Moderator, UC Families Original post: Getting SHIP (Blue Cross) to cover a home birth ------------------------------------------- I've just been told by the UC student health insurance office that, while they have no problems covering a midwife as an out-of-network provider, they won't cover any expenses related to a home birth. So, my prenatal care is fine, but the birth will not be covered. My midwife, who charges a single fee for prenatal and birth services, says that there's no problem, since the home birth carries no fees itself; all fees are only for *care*, and have nothing to do with where the care occurs. That logic makes sense to be, but I'm afraid it won't make sense to Blue Cross. (My insurance is the UC Student Health Insurance Plan, a Blue Cross Prudent Buyer plan). I'm concerned that Blue Cross will kick back the claim, saying that since the birth was at home, they won't pay for any of the care. Has anyone tried to get a home birth covered under SHIP? Or has anyone successfully gotten a company with a similar policy to cover a home birth? Will just not telling them where I have the baby work? I've got 8 months to try to make this work, so any advice on tactics to take (or avoid) will be much appreciated. anonymous for now Response: Insurance Coverage for Home Birth ------------------------------------------- I am writing to the anonymous student who inquired about coverage for a home birth using a midwife. I am sorry not to have responded earlier - I have been getting caught up on back issues of the newsletter. The Student Health Insurance Plan will cover services provided by a midwife, with certain limitations. For more detailed information about what is and is not covered by the plan, please call the Student Health Insurance Office. She will be able to provide you with more detailed information about your particular situation. I wish the best of luck with your pregnancy and a lifetime of joy with your new child! Heather ---------------------------------------------- *New postings ---------------------------------------------- You can post a response message: http://parents.berkeley.edu/post_ucfam.html Repost: Spousal employment ------------------------------------------- My spouse is currently on the job market and has been offered several opportunities, some of which have offered me a PhD as well promises of employment. One offer seems sincere and offers to put it in writing, but the more I look into it there is no real match for my research interest. My spouse is very keen on this choice, and wants the best for me and tells that they must find something for us to accept. But its not solid and is very uncomfortable for me, I feel like Im pushing myself into a job I was not highered for. A less promising option for my spouse has offered me a 3 yr funded research position where I could create my own research. Im really stumped and could use some help in deciding...SOON! Anyone with expereince in this situation or just knowledge of it we would be greatful. Thank you anom Repost: Berkeley High for Village residents? ------------------------------------------- Has anyone in the Village successfully sent their teen to Berkeley High? Any advice other than ''submit a transfer request''? We have an 8th grader who is looking at either Berkeley High or Albany High. He's most interested in their Computer Science depts. BHS has bigger dept; AHS has newer equipment and possibly better support? Also, has anyone ever seen a teen taking CS courses at UC- Berkeley? Our two teens (13 & 14 yo) have been learning programming since they were tots & are now programming their own games & have professional resumes (worked for MS & several small companies). What they really need is access to UC CS classes, but they're still too young and I haven't found a way around the age requirements. ?? trying to find the right spot for my techy-kids Going back to school with children? PI's opinion ------------------------------------------- I am a lab tech at Plant & Microbial Biology Dept, UCB. I started this job without no science backgrounds and have been in the same lab for 5 years. I really like this job as my career and am very interested in biology. Although it was not easy, I have achieved so many technical skills, but I have been realizing that I need more academic aspects. Now I am very unclear what to do. I have 2 children (8 and almost 6), and I am in mid-30's. I really want to go back to school, preferably for ph.D but I am not sure how realistic this idea can be. So I would like to hear opinions especially from PIs. I would like to know what kind of options I could have. I also will appreciate the experiences from people who went back to school with young children. Rie Dealing with neighbor kids parents ------------------------------------------- My (soon to be 8 yr. old) son sometimes plays with this 5 year old boy next door. The boy usually comes over my house to play. I've never encouraged the relationship because of the boys mom. I should mention my son is the baby of the family, I also have a 12 year daughter and a 9 year old daughter (and a German Shepherd dog). And I work parttime. I've come to realize whenever my son plays with this boy he's held to some high standard. The mom is not shy about telling me all the things my boy (Nicholas) does wrong. One time my son gave Josh a piece of gum (he was sharing right?), well Josh took it out of his mouth and somehow got it stuck in his hair. The mom blamed Nicholas for giving him the piece of gum! My son also tends to snack too much during the day, well when Josh is over, naturally we offer the snack to him, only later to hear that Josh can't have too many snacks because it spoils his dinner. For these reasons and others, I feel the boy is too young to play with Nicholas. I should mention Josh is the oldest in his family and has a younger 3 yr. old sister. My son is having a birthday party and doesn't want Josh to come. I've tried to convince him we should invite him because they invite us, but he still doesn't want him there. I guess my question is, if I don't invite him I feel she will approach me and ask why her son isn't invited. If so, how do I handle this? Relocating to UCSD - Need Info ------------------------------------------- Hi, My husband has accepted a job at UC San Diego. I was hoping people who work and or live around UCSD could give me some information regarding the communities they live in, how long and manageable is their commute, etc. Pediatrician, pediatric dentist, home daycare, playgroup suggestions etc. would also be helpful. We have three little ones ages 6, 2, and 1. My husband and I have lived in the same area for over 14 yrs so this a big move for us. Thanks, Bridget ------------------------------------------ *Articles and media ------------------------------------------ You can post comments or discussion points about any of these, or offer new ones - http://parents.berkeley.edu/post_ucfam.html Part-Time Advocate? P.D. Lesko publishes a magazine for adjuncts, but stop telling her they're exploited, By John Gravois Chronicle of Higher Education, from the issue dated March 17, 2006 http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=BVgtswQSqDR4QJx2bw623SjFWCnBppBP Op-Ed Contributor Working It Out, By Claudia Goldin New York Times, from the issue dated March 15, 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/15/opinion/15goldin.html?ex=1143090000&en=fea1ab4559aa23b5&ei=5070&emc=eta1 --------------------------------------------------------------------- - Post a message * http://parents.berkeley.edu/post.html - Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Address Changes, Help * http://parents.berkeley.edu/subscribers.html