NORTHFIELD, Minn.—Carleton College President Steven G. Poskanzer has joined with nine fellow presidents and chancellors as leading supporters of the American Council on Education’s (ACE) National Challenge for Higher Education: Retaining a 21st Century Workforce.
The campaign asks college and university presidents to promote faculty career flexibility on their campuses. According to research from the private sector and ACE’s experience in assisting institutions in working towards workplace flexibility, well-implemented strategies for workplace flexibility lead to improved recruiting, increased faculty commitment and engagement, greater productivity, reduced turnover, and reduced stress. Examples of such benefits include flexible tenure clocks, family leave policies that are available to faculty of either gender and in instances of adoption, phased retirement options, and promoting the support of flexible workplace policies at the departmental level across the institution.
The National Challenge is the latest in a series of ACE projects supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that highlight and reward institutions for effectively recruiting, retaining and advancing faculty in their careers as a means of developing institutional capacity.
Poskanzer is one of 10 presidents and chancellors who are serving as Founding Coalition Partners. A list of the presidents and chancellors who have signed the Statement of Support for Expanding Workplace Flexibility, along with additional information on the program, can be found on the ACE website.