Jane and Lisa are a dual-career academic couple at the School of Medicine. Jane is a Clinical Assistant Professor, and Lisa is a tenure-track Assistant Professor. The couple is planning to adopt a child domestically and have just finished the home study and authorizing paperwork. They are told the wait for a child will be at least a year. A week later, Jane and Lisa receive a surprising early morning call. By noon the next day, they are awestruck parents. Overwhelmed by the immediacy of the transition, they sit down to discuss how to manage the coming weeks. Should they take Family Leave? If so, should they take it at the same time? Are they eligible for short-term disability? As same-sex domestic partners, which policies apply to them? Jane worries about how she will cover her clinical responsibilities on such short notice. Lisa wonders if she should extend her tenure clock or try to continue since she is so close to beginning her tenure review. What about childcare – they were not even on a waitlist!

Solutions:

• Schedule a counseling session with the Stanford Work-Life Office to receive customized advice
• Review the "Adoption" section of Stanford’s WorkLife website. Up to $10,000 reimbursement per adoption
• Review Reduced Teaching and Clinical Care policies in the Faculty Handbook
• Review available benefits on the Stanford Benefits website:
  • Maternity, Adoption and Childcare
  • Family and Infant Care Leave
• 
  

Zora is a tenure-line Assistant Professor at the School of Medicine. A “rising star," single, and a long way from her native Nigeria, Zora consistently works 60 to 70 hours a week. After a year at Stanford, she experiences some unusual health problems that cause her to seek medical attention. Several appointments and a battery of tests later, Zora is faced with a diagnosis of Systemic Lupus. Zora meets with her department chair to discuss her options in managing her illness and her significant career. Initially, her doctor has recommended that she take six weeks off to recover and acclimate to the medications that will, hopefully, control her symptoms. The Department Chair is committed to Zora’s long-term success at Stanford, and they begin to outline a collection of policies and flexibility options that will allow her to take care of herself and accomplish her goals of returning to health and obtaining tenure.

Solutions:

In such a case, faculty should work with departmental leadership, Human Resources, and the Office of Academic Affairs to create the best possible plan.

• Review information on the Family and Medical Leave Act
• Consider Short Term or Long Term Disability 
• Consider an FTE reduction and discuss with Department leadership

John, a tenure line faculty member in the School of Medicine, has been at the university for just over a year. He receives a call that his father was admitted to the hospital in a city three hours away. His mother suffers from a heart condition and his father has been her primary caregiver. John reports the situation to his division Chief and Department Chair and arranges to be away for a few days. Three days later, his father passes away unexpectedly, and John, an only child, is left with the responsibility of making final arrangements for his father, as well as arrangements for the long-term care of his mother. Initially, John arranges to be away for three weeks, but after a week it is clear that he needs more time to put things in order. He also needs to determine how to care for his mother since neither he nor his mother have the financial resources to pay for full-time assistance.

Solutions

• Short-Term Leave of Absence
• Review information on the Family and Medical Leave Act
• Consider an FTE reduction and discuss with Department leadership
• Examine Elder Care options 

Radhika, a full professor on the MCL line, just celebrated her 63rd birthday. She still loves seeing patients, teaching residents, and publishing. Her husband, Ravi, who had a successful career as a high-technology executive, just completed a succession plan for his company and announced that he would retire at the end of the year – he hopes to write a book about the future of Cloud Computing. Radhika and Ravi sit down to discuss their future – should Radhika retire too? Even if she wanted to retire, can they really afford it? What about healthcare coverage? Radhika is also not sure she is prepared to go from her full schedule to no work. Could she retire and still continue doing research?

Solutions

• Retirement should be discussed with Department leadership. For an initial consultation, contact Ellen Waxman
• Review Stanford’s Retirement Checklist
• Review Senior Faculty Transitions Retirement information