CMU grants any regular faculty member (tenure-track, teaching-track, librarian and archivist track and research-track) who is a new parent and a primary caregiver a one-semester paid leave of absence within the first year after birth or adoption of a child*. However, faculty parental leave does not fully address the practical reality that the demands of new parenthood often leave primary caregiver faculty behind on their research and other academic pursuits relative to their peers. The College of Engineering is accordingly offering a teaching release program for faculty who become new parents.
Provided that a new-parent faculty member certifies that during an approved leave taken under the University’s Faculty Parental Leave policy, the faculty member: (a) was, in fact, the primary caregiver for the child, (b) did not employ anyone to provide care for that child or have any family member or other non-employed person who provided care for that child, separately or in combination, for more than 20 hours per week during the standard 40-hour workweek; and (c) accordingly, the faculty member was unable to make normal progress on their research or other academic publications or achievements during that time (and demonstrates a lack of normal progress to their Department Head), then following the birth or adoption of a child, Department heads will grant an eligible faculty member a release from teaching one course in the next semester following the conclusion of the formally approved parental leave. Where both parents of a new child are University faculty, only one parent is eligible for the teaching release. The certification described in this paragraph will be required to be provided to the Department Head in writing both at the time of application for the teaching release and just before the period of the teaching release is to begin, pursuant to a standard form provided by the College.
Generally, this reduction will be granted for the Fall or Spring semester following the faculty parental leave unless this faculty member normally fulfills their teaching responsibilities in the Summer semester. Department heads may not assign extra non-teaching responsibilities to this faculty member or shift their teaching responsibilities to another semester against their wishes in connection with the teaching release.
Faculty members who are so granted a teaching release to allow them to advance their research or other professional activities are expected to continue to carry out their other normal university responsibilities such as student advising, and departmental and university service, as appropriate and in keeping with reasonable expectations for flexibility.
Department heads may be flexible and offer, at their discretion, alternative accommodations to a faculty member who would not normally have teaching responsibilities in the semester they return from faculty parental leave or who request alternative accommodations for other reasons. For jointly-appointed faculty with teaching obligations in another college, department heads may assist in negotiating a reasonable accommodation with the other department/college to the extent possible, recognizing that not all schools and colleges have such a program.
Reappointment, promotion and tenure (RPT) timelines may not be changed as a result of making use of this teaching release. An individual faculty member should consult with a faculty mentor or department head in order to carefully consider the impact of a teaching release on the next RPT action in the context of their own existing/anticipated teaching record throughout the current evaluation period.
Accurate reporting of effort, particularly related to sponsored research, must be maintained as usual during the semester of the release for faculty engaged in funded research. It is the responsibility of the faculty member to work with the appropriate department business office to ensure accurate reporting.
The Dean of Engineering will evaluate this program on an ongoing basis. If the University develops and implements a solution that is substantially similar to the above Faculty Parental Teaching Release Program, this program will end and be replaced by the University solution. In other words, we do not intend to allow individual faculty members to benefit in sequence from the Engineering program and a University solution.
To apply for College of Engineering teaching release, please submit the College of Engineering Faculty and Parental Teaching Release form.
*In addition to paid parental leave, regular faculty members may apply for unpaid family leave to serve as the primary caregiver for a child or other dependent.