NMSU faculty leaders say spouse-employment problem hurts hiring, retention
NMSU Faculty Senate leaders say dual-career issues are a serious impediment to faculty recruitment and retention and want a systemwide task force to study solutions.
Faculty Senate leaders are seeking a systemwide task force to study ‘dual-career’ issues they say can impede recruitment and retention
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State University faculty leaders say “dual-career” issues are a serious impediment to recruiting and retaining faculty and want a systemwide task force to study possible solutions.
Faculty Senate Chair Kristian Finlator told the NMSU Board of Regents Aug. 18 that Sen. Holguin has drafted a resolution requesting creation of a systemwide task force to consider dual-career issues for faculty.
Finlator said those issues are “widely acknowledged to be a serious impediment to recruitment and retention of excellent faculty,” while no systemwide support framework currently appears to be available to department heads who need a solution.
The proposal is one of several initiatives Faculty Senate leaders developed over the summer for the 2026-27 academic year.
“Dual-career” concerns generally refer to situations in which employment considerations affecting two professionals in the same household can influence recruitment or retention decisions.
Finlator did not describe specific cases at NMSU, identify particular departments struggling with the issue or outline what a universitywide support framework might include.
The proposed resolution remains a Faculty Senate initiative and was presented to the Regents as part of Finlator’s informational report. No action was requested from the board.
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Support Organ Mountain NewsFaculty Senate pursuing broader changes
Holguin separately drafted a resolution requesting another systemwide task force to study how faculty innovation and entrepreneurship could be incorporated into promotion and tenure decisions.
Finlator said that group would begin with a gap analysis and survey of current practices before developing recommendations for college-level promotion and tenure criteria.
The proposed group would include representation from the University Research Council, the Office of the Vice President for Research, Arrowhead Center and Faculty Senate.
Faculty Senate leaders are also preparing changes to eligibility requirements for NMSU’s Open Access Publication Fund.
Finlator said the fund provided $44,895 during its pilot year and allowed 28 underfunded faculty members to publish original research in open-access journals.
Other issues Faculty Senate leaders expect to consider during the academic year include changes to the general education course certification process, coursework accommodations for tribal students and the duration of the beginning-of-term course-shopping period.
The Senate also plans to follow up on measures passed during the previous academic year involving non-tenure-track faculty, artificial intelligence and undergraduate student success.
On the dual-career issue, Finlator’s report stopped short of proposing a specific program or policy. The resolution would instead ask NMSU to create a systemwide task force to study the problem and determine what support, if any, should be developed for departments trying to address it.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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