Students may find that differing names and differing departments
are irrelevant when it comes to married faculty on campus.
Take, for example, math lecturer Andrea Brose and atmospheric
sciences Associate Professor Bjorn Stevens.
“From working in different departments we get different
perspectives. One’s a big department and the other is small.
… We get more insight into other people and get to meet people
more easily. It’s broadening our perspectives in that
way,” Stevens said.
Although they teach courses in different fields, their offices
are in the same building, allowing them to meet despite hectic
schedules.
Sometimes they get together for coffee, brief walks or lunch,
Brose said.
They also talk about their academic careers, sharing ideas and
thoughts about how to teach well, what is important information to
put on exams and how harshly they should grade their students.
“You talk to colleagues about these issues too, but (when
you are married to another faculty member), you have another close
colleague to discuss them with,” Stevens said.
Stevens and Brose find working at the same campus
convenient.
“If we didn’t work at the same school, our lives
would have been more fragmented. It’s just easier being at
the same institution,” Brose said.
“I think our lives are more chaotic right now because if
we worked away from each other; we would have to be more
structured,” he said.
Because they work at the same institution, it is easier for them
to understand the difficulties sometimes associated with teaching
at UCLA.
“We can see where the extra burdens lie, and we can
understand them,” Brose said.
Stevens and Brose said students often do not know they are
married because they have different last names.
“One time we had a common student. He simply didn’t
believe it. Once he came into my office, saw our pictures, and
said, “˜You even have kids!'” Brose said.
Brose said working at UCLA has made it easier to raise their two
daughters as well.
“It’s an ideal place to raise the children. The air
is great, and we live in a small place within walking
distance,” Brose said.
Sometimes their kindergarten daughter attends her parents’
lectures and bikes around campus with her younger sister.
“Because we both work here and our daughter goes here, we
feel very much like we’re UCLA citizens,” Stevens
said.
Other married faculty couples see their students as their
children, like Chicano studies Assistant Professor Raul
Hinojosa-Ojeda and Paule Cruz-Takash, a visiting professor at the
César Chávez Center for Chicano studies.
“We are their kids. I’ve heard them say that before.
… They take us under their wings and support us in and out of
class, to help us succeed in life,” said Pedro Mojica, a
graduate student from the Department of Urban Planning from the
School of Public Policy and Research.
Hinojosa-Ojeda and Takash met through their mutual interest in
immigration issues. Several times they were invited to the same
conference to sit on the same panel because their issues were
related.
The couple commuted to two different universities before Takash,
who had been working at UC San Diego, received a position at UCLA a
few years ago.
“A lot of academic couples have that issue. Sometimes
they’re positioned in different universities, in different
cities, in different states. … We did that our first several
years together and survived it,” Takash said.
“Now my odometer reflects a lot less mileage,” she
said.
Working at the same institution in similar fields with
complementary courses holds additional perks for Hinojosa-Ojeda and
Takash.
“We can compare notes on students so we can know how to
help particular students more, and we learn from each other’s
experience on what works,” Hinojosa-Ojeda said.
“We get to know students a lot better this way, and they
become both of our friends. It’s a very fulfilling
relationship. … Our relationships with students have gotten
richer from working together,” he said.
However, there are times when they feel that their academic life
and home life are inseparable.
“I would imagine that some folks are relieved to go home
to a non-academic world,” Takash said.
Nevertheless, Hinojosa-Ojeda and Takash feel that working at the
same institution is worth it.
“I highly recommend that every faculty member get a spouse
from the faculty,” Hinojosa-Ojeda said jokingly.
“Vacations are always at the same time, and stress periods
are at the same time,” he said.
Hinojosa-Ojeda and Takash work together at the North American
Integration & Development Center, writing joint proposals for
international organizations.
“It’s a totally great life. Teaching is a fantastic
experience,” Hinojosa-Ojeda said.
“They’re like family. It’s dynamic to see how
they complement each other. … They’re a wonderful pair of
human beings and a really cute couple,” Mojica said.