They opened their first on-campus childcare center in 2003 and are working to open a second badly needed facility by 2010. Since Georgia doesn’t allow state colleges and universities to provide maternity benefits beyond the federal FMLA, Georgia Tech had to be creative in devising solutions, says Dr. Jane Ammons, associate dean of engineering for faculty affairs and a professor of industrial and system engineering.
The new program allows women to telecommute during the semester they have their babies, freeing them from the classroom and from committee assignments.
“For us to recruit and retain the best faculty, we’ve got to help them when the hits come in life,” Ammons says. She speaks from experience — she’s the second woman ever hired and the first to have children in the faculty of the college of engineering. She also pursued a legal case with the institution’s board of regents to ensure her right to take time off with the birth of her children, who are now 22 and 25 years old.
“It’s like a different world now,” Ammons says. “We all work together to help faculty members get through this.”
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