Dual Career Committee

Charge

In July 2006 the Dual Career Committee (DCC) was established by the Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Diversity. (The idea for this "think tank" came from our original NSF ADVANCE proposal.) The DCC was charged with exploring ways to address the increasing challenge for the University and other community businesses of meeting the employment needs of dual career professionals. The DCC spent a year reviewing current literature on the topic, member experiences, and the results of dual career couples questionnaires that were administered by the Committee members. They also benchmarked with dozens of universities across the country.

DCC Members

  • Chris S. Anderson—Special Assistant to the President for Institutional Diversity, Michigan Tech
  • Becky Christianson—Project Manger, Office of VP for Administration, Michigan Tech
  • Carlton Crothers—Chief Executive Officer, MTEC SmartZone
  • Peg Gale—Dean, School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, Michigan Tech
  • Dennis Harbour—Superintendent, Copper Country Intermediate School District
  • Jackie Huntoon—Dean, Graduate School, Michigan Tech
  • Sherry Kauppi—Director, Human Resources/Affirmative Programs, Michigan Tech
  • Scott MacInnes—City Manager, City of Houghton
  • Gerald Michaelson—Program Specialist, Michigan Works
  • Donna Michalek—Assistant Provost, Michigan Tech
  • Phil Musser—Executive Director, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance
  • Jeanne Rellahan—Executive Vice President and Provost, Finlandia University
  • Karin VanDyke—Vice President, Communications and Human Resources, Portage Health System

Recommendation

The DCC presented their recommendation first to the Deans' Council and were then invited to an Academic Forum in late Fall, 2007. They recommended that:

  1. a web-based resource be established that would connect partners of prospective or current Michigan Tech employees and students, and local business employees, with potential jobs/professional positions in the local area.
  2. a half-time employee be assigned or hired to build linkages in the local area, manage the website and provide department follow-up and support for new hires.
  3. the coordinator would collaborate with the Smart Zone and the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA) to assist partners who may want to establish their own business.

Short and Long-Term Implementation

The development of the website would be completed by an Enterprise group on campus. The website would handle:

  • all repetitive administrative duties.
  • provide a non-stop shopping of information needed to successfully persuade a potential employee to accept a position in this area.
  • standardize the presentation of information to the user.
  • be easy to navigate, use and administer.
  • target three market segments—general inquirer, attraction of candidates, and retention of candidates.

The coordinator would report to the Human Resources or Provost Office. After the website and strong local connections are established, the coordinator would expand the collaborative efforts to include potential employers located outside of the Copper Country area, i.e. Marquette, and work with the Career Center to help identify potential partners who would support remote/offsite positions. The coordinator's position could also be expanded to assist academic departments and others to nurture the process of addressing dual career partner issues and help ensure retention of new hires.