Faculty, staff couples find mostly advantages to campus jobs

BY LINDA EVANS
RichmondNow Editor

When April and Malcolm Hill take their three children on trips, the family often visits coastal areas, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay so they can stop along the way to collect sponges.

That’s because the Hills, both associate professors in the biology department, collaborate on research projects about the primitive animals. They brought their passion for sponge research with them from tenured positions at Fairfield University.

“In 2003, we both decided to start looking for positions at institutions that were more in line with our career goals,” says April Hill. “I also wanted a warmer environment! Richmond ended up being the best fit for both of us.”

The Hills are among at least 14 faculty and staff couples that work for the University.

Often faculty couples meet in graduate school, marry and then search for adjoining jobs. “Whenever possible, we try to help when we hire a faculty member who has a ‘trailing spouse,’” says Joe Kent, interim provost. Finding a permanent or tenure-track position for the spouse is often a challenge, he says, “as these are typically hired by faculty through national searches.”

Whether members of the faculty or the staff, husbands and wives cannot supervise one another, says Carl Sorenson, associate vice president for human resource services. If they are in the same academic department, for instance, neither of them could chair that department.

In the Hills’ case, April was hired as an associate professor and Malcolm was hired as a visiting associate professor. He then applied for an open ecology position and was hired as an associate professor for the fall 2005.

Michele Cox, director of study abroad, and David Kitchen, associate dean of continuing studies, combine their work and personal lives by serving as host parents to international students. They have hosted more than 12 international students, and this year they are hosting an exchange student from Japan and a degree-seeking student from Afghanistan.

“We love to interact with international students and scholars and try to have these folks over to our house as much as we can, because we love talking and learning about other cultures—not to mention cooking and eating new foods,” says Cox.

Cox came to the University in 1991 and had previously met Kitchen through their work in international education. She encouraged him to apply for a job, and in 2001, he joined the University. They were married in 2005 in Cannon Memorial Chapel.

Joanne Ciulla and René Kanters met at Oxford when she was a visiting scholar and he was doing research on a British Council Research grant. They were already married when they moved to Richmond from Philadelphia. She had been offered the job of associate professor and Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics, and they were hoping he also would find a position at the University. Kanters began as a part-time instructor in chemistry and then advanced to visiting assistant professor and chemistry project specialist. In 2000, he became director of computer assisted science education, his current title. Ciulla still holds the faculty chair and was promoted to full professor.

Duke University basketball brought together Catherine Bagwell, associate professor of psychology, and Doug Hicks, associate professor of leadership studies and religion and executive director of the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement. 

They both came to Richmond for their first faculty positions after graduate school and joined a group of young faculty who met regularly after work on Fridays at local restaurants. “We happened to go to one of those events at the same time, and we happened to sit across from each other,” says Bagwell. “We started talking about Duke basketball, as we are both Duke grads. The rest is history, as they say.” The couple wed in May 2001.

Mary and Lit Maxwell came to the area to take positions as librarians for Henrico County. In 1971, Lit landed his job at UR as business librarian.

Later, he heard about an opening in the development office for a researcher and encouraged Mary to apply. She joined the University in 1981 as a part-time employee and advanced to full-time director of prospect research. She says the earlier flexibility gave her time to spend with their then-young child.

Aurora Hermida-Ruiz, associate professor of Spanish, and Ted Peebles, director of the intensive language program for Spanish, met in Spain when Hermida-Ruiz was beginning her B.A. and Peebles was a study-abroad student in Seville. Later, they both studied for Ph.D.s at the University of Virginia and came to Richmond two years apart, says Peebles.

They say working in the same department has many advantages. “I get the results of Ted’s work in my classes, so I know how much students appreciate him,” says Hermida-Ruiz.

She says most of the time they don’t run into each other. “We rarely have lunch together, but every now and then we come to D-hall for dinner with the kids. It may well be their favorite restaurant in town.”

Raymond Dominey and Emma Goldman, both associate professors of chemistry, met in graduate school and came to the University two years apart—Goldman in 1984 and Dominey in 1986. “We lived in Dennis Hall as Faculty Fellows for three years,” says Goldman. “We enjoyed getting to know students and eating with them in the dining hall. ...as well as hosting study breaks during finals and bringing in speakers.”

John and Anita Hubbard also work in the same academic department—he as professor of mathematics and computer science, she as instructor and director of computer science laboratories. They came to the University together in 1983.

“John had just completed a master’s degree in computer science at Penn State. We wanted to find new positions in the same department,” says Anita, who collaborates with John on classes and writing textbooks. She says the couple enjoys driving to and from work together and discussing work at home.

Discussing their work at home or while commuting is a common theme among faculty and staff couples.

“We have to be careful to leave University politics at work,” says April Hill. “Our kids help with that because they hate it when we talk about work at dinner.”

Bagwell says that she and Hicks can connect to the University in many ways because they have separate and joint ties to various aspects of University life. “We have a deep understanding of the challenges and joys of one another’s jobs. We know one another’s colleagues. It’s easy to discuss work-related issues with one another and give one another help and advice without having to do a lot of explaining.”

Steve and Lori Taylor came to UR to coach—she is director of track & field and cross country and coaches women’s cross country and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field. Steve serves as head men’s indoor and outdoor track & field and cross country coach. 

Steve says he and Lori are serious about what they do and love it. “We can talk through many of the events of the day on our way home.”

Joanna Drell and David Routt both teach in the history department. They say it is convenient to get advice on teaching and scholarship from each other.

Other advantages to working for the same institution include having similar schedules and vacations and “both being a part of the University and sharing in University events,” says Ciulla. “Since we are in very different disciplines and on different sides of the campus, we get the best of both worlds by working in the same institution but not in the same department.”

Couples also cite some disadvantages to working together on campus. For the Taylors, it means few weekends at home. “The nature of our jobs keeps us traveling all the time since our teams compete year round and recruiting never ends,” says Steve.

Because Cox and Kitchen both worked for the same employer, Kitchen was not able to take extended time off under the Family Medical Leave Act after Cox gave birth to their daughter.

Drell says that because she and Routt are both medieval historians (she studies Italy; he focuses on England), they often mix up the books in their office libraries and have to “hunt down books in the other’s office.”

The Taylors, who have adjacent offices, find one unique advantage to working so closely to each other. They have developed their own means of communication.

“We often communicate by knocking  on the wall,” says Steve. “One knock is ‘yes,’ and two knocks means ‘no.’ Three knocks means “I don’t know,” and four or more knocks means “You are really starting to annoy me.”