Recent incidents involving family members who work together at institutions of higher learning have sparked renewed discussion about nepotism policies and related conflicts of interest on college campuses.
In August, a husband and wife, highly respected computer science professors at Carnegie Mellon University, announced that they would resign effective Aug. 21, 2019, with an email by her citing “sexist management” and “professional harassment.”
And it was reported in September that the husband of the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater was removed from his unpaid advisory role as associate to the chancellor – and banned from campus events – after an internal investigation determined that some sexual harassment allegations against him were credible.
Such incidents raise thorny issues about couples – or even parents and children – working together in the academy. Although some see the benefits of hiring family, which can include the likelihood of longer-term stability, it’s a two-sided coin with a major potential peril: if one decides to leaves, the other is likely to follow.
The possibility of a conflict of interest is ever-present, especially when they work in the same department, and often a perception is that the two will act as one – or should be treated as a unit, for better or worse.
“There’s a reason there are nepotism policies,” said Dr. Gregory F. Scholtz, director of the Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure and Governance at the American Association of University Professors. “When you have family members operating in the same institution, especially close proximity, there will be some conflicts of interest. I’ve seen on smaller campuses that married couples tend to act in concert. That can make them more effective than, say, people who have no familial ties.”
The issue is largely a matter of shared governance, he added.
