Principles

In its efforts to recruit the best possible candidates for tenured and tenure-track faculty positions, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences has a tradition of working to accommodate accompanying domestic partners, including spouses. The following principles should govern any College process leading to the employment of a partner accompanying a candidate being recruited.

1. All candidates for tenured and tenure-track faculty positions who are invited for on-campus interviews should be informed, in writing, of the College’s willingness to entertain requests for employment of partners and of the procedures involved in that process.
2. Marital or other partnership status will not be considered in the evaluation of a candidate’s qualifications.
3. All decisions about the employment of an accompanying partner must be based on the current standards, available resources, and needs of the College, the school, the unit, and/or the office in which the accompanying partner seeks employment.

Process

The following process pertains to the review and appointment of accompanying partners in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

1. Every invitation for an on-campus interview for a faculty position in the College will include the following statement:
   
   “Any candidate who has a spouse or domestic partner whose employment might affect the desirability of an appointment in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Kansas is advised to consult the “Domestic Partner Accommodation in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences” policy, located at https://policy.ku.edu/CLAS/domestic-partner-accommodation.”
    
2. When a candidate requests a position in the university for a partner, the candidate will provide a copy of the partner’s credentials to the unit’s chair or director, who will then forward them to their Contact Associate Dean.
3. For a partner seeking and deemed qualified for a nonacademic position, the Associate Dean will forward a copy of the credentials to the Dean’s Office Chief of Staff, who will make inquiries about possibilities in the university.
4. For a partner seeking and deemed qualified for an academic position outside the College, the Dean of the College will consult with the Dean of the relevant School.
5. For a partner seeking and deemed qualified for an academic position in the College, the Dean will consult with the chair or director of the relevant unit in order to determine whether a position is possible and the type of position for which the partner might be considered. This decision is based on, but is not limited to, budgetary considerations, the unit’s needs, the partner’s qualifications, and the wishes of the partner. The unit will review the credentials for assessment of their merit and their compatibility with the unit’s needs. If after this assessment the unit decides to proceed with consideration of the hire, then any further steps in the regular evaluation process will be taken based on the “Academic Appointments in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences” guidelines and the unit’s bylaws and procedures. After completion of the evaluation process, the unit will forward its recommendation concerning appointment (either for or against) to the Dean. The Dean will then make a decision on tendering an appointment. One outcome could be a written promise from the unit and the Dean that the partner will be considered for a particular type of position in the future if specified conditions are met, such as completion of a degree, or when budgetary considerations will allow.