Tufts AS&E faculty work/life resources
The AS&E Committee on Faculty Work/Life has prepared this handout for faculty work/life liaisons. Faculty members are invited to
contact their departmental liaison or any committee member for additional information.
The Secretary of the Faculty website hosts an official Faculty Work/Life Resources page at
http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/worklife/. It can help you navigate the definitive source of information about many faculty
work/life policies in the AS&E Faculty Handbook, especially the section on Nonacademic Leaves:
http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/handbook/leave/nonAcademic.htm
The Work/Life Committee wiki brings together information on all extant work/life policies, programs, and practices in a
peer-to-peer context: http://go.tufts.edu/worklife.
Work/life contacts and resources
For official guidance and information, important resource people are:
 Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs Margery Davies, who devotes a substantial portion of her time to faculty
work/life matters in both A&S and SOE: margery.davies@tufts.edu, 617-627-3385.
 In Arts and Sciences: Maria Tripodi, office of the Deans: maria.tripodi@tufts.edu, 617-627-3092.
 In the School of Engineering: Kat Mor: kat.mor@tufts.edu, 617-627-3754.
 For benefits-related and staff work/life questions: Mary Foster or Paul Alexander, AS&E's HR business partners:
mary.foster@tufts.edu, 617-627-2160; Paul.Alexander@tufts.edu, 617-627-0550.
 If you have questions about retirement, contact your Academic Dean, or Robbyn Dewar in the HR Benefits office:
robbyn.dewar@tufts.edu, 617-627-2118.
For peer-to-peer advice or information, contact the committee's co-chairs: Elizabeth Remick (Political Science,
elizabeth.remick@tufts.edu) and Amahl Bishara (Anthropology, amahl.bishara@tufts.edu).
For unofficial advice about childcare, contact June Goldstein: june.goldstein@tufts.edu.
Nonacademic Leaves
See faculty handbook for details: http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/handbook/leave/nonAcademic.htm
Leave eligibility chart: http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/handbook/leave/leaveEligibilityChart.htm
 Parental leave for parents of newly arrived children. This includes, e.g., women who give birth, adoptive parents,
fathers, and same-sex partners. It is a paid leave, for 12 weeks (8 if in the first year of employment at Tufts) per
rolling calendar year, and is available to all benefits-eligible faculty members. Note that parents no longer need to
declare that they are primary caregivers.
 Family illness leave. This is leave to take care of a seriously ill family member, as defined in the faculty handbook.
Benefits-eligible faculty members are entitled to up to 6 weeks of paid family illness leave, plus 6 weeks of unpaid
family illness leave, per rolling calendar year. The illness must be certified by a health care professional. May be
taken intermittently or on a reduced-work schedule, with a maximum equivalent to the amount of time allowed for a
full-time leave, the exact arrangement to be determined in consultation with the dean and chair.
 Medical leave. This is paid leave taken due to one's own physical or mental health condition, as certified by a health
care professional. Benefits-eligible faculty members are entitled to up to 6 months of paid medical leave per rolling
calendar year. If you will be away from work due to illness for more than two weeks, whether during the summer or
the school year, you will need to take a medical leave. May be taken intermittently or on a reduced-work schedule,
with a maximum equivalent to the amount of time allowed for a full-time medical leave, the exact arrangement to be
determined in consultation with the dean and chair. As of July 1, 2015, non-benefits-eligible faculty are eligible for 40
hours of paid medical leave.
 Family and Medical Leave Act leave. This federal law provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, with job
security, per rolling calendar year, for the care of an ill family member, for care of a child up to one year old, or for
one's own medical condition including pregnancy and childbirth. Employees who have worked at Tufts for 12 months,
and worked ≥ 1,250 hours in the 12 months preceding the leave, are eligible. FMLA leave runs concurrently with
Tufts' paid leaves, but can come into play if you need a longer leave than some types of Tufts paid leave allow for.
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For example, you could take six weeks of paid Tufts family illness leave, followed by up to six weeks of unpaid
FMLA leave. http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm
Domestic Violence leave. Up to 15 days of unpaid leave in a 12-month period to address issues directly related to
domestic violence against the faculty member or the faculty member’s family member.
http://provost.tufts.edu/policies/domestic-violence-leave-for-faculty/
Policies related to parental, family illness, and medical leaves
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Tenure clock stoppage for tenure-stream faculty. A one-year deferral is automatically granted to faculty members
who take a parental leave, or a full 12 weeks of family illness or medical leave; automatic deferrals will be granted
twice during the probationary period (additional deferrals for parental, family illness, and medical leave may be
requested). A one-year deferral may also be requested by faculty members who take less than 12 weeks of family
illness or medical leave. http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/handbook/leave/definitionOfTerms.htm#tenureReviewDeferral
Teaching relief for tenure-stream faculty. Tenure-stream faculty members for whom the majority of a 12-week
nonacademic leave occurs during June, July, and August are entitled to one semester of teaching relief during the
following academic year. Tenure-stream faculty members whose nonacademic leave falls in the fall or spring
semester are entitled to teaching relief for the balance of a semester before or after the leave.
http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/handbook/leave/definitionOfTerms.htm#teachingRelief
Adjustment of faculty duties for non-tenure-stream faculty. Non-tenure-stream faculty members are entitled to an
adjustment of their duties for the balance of a semester before or after a parental, family illness, or medical leave.
http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty/handbook/leave/definitionOfTerms.htm#adjustment
Dependent care and self-care resources
Elder/adult care (also see the Work/Life Committee's wiki section on elder care)
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Care.com Backup Dependent Care, backup in-home care for a parent, partner, adult child or other adult you are
responsible for. Also available for self-care. Can be used anywhere in the U.S. where Care.com has coverage. All
benefits-eligible employees have access to 20 days of backup care per calendar year; users pay an hourly fee. Try to
register two days in advance, if possible. http://hr.tufts.edu/backup-in-home-child-and-adult-care-services/
Referral and counseling services through the Employee Assistance Program, http://hr.tufts.edu/benefits/employeeassistance-program/, username "tufts" and password "employee."
Child care (also see the Work/Life Committee's wiki section on child care)
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Care.com Backup Dependent Care, backup in-home care for use when regular care falls through or when you have
a mildly ill child, a snow day, or school holiday. Available to all benefits-eligible employees. Access to 20 days of
backup care per year; users pay an hourly fee. http://hr.tufts.edu/backup-in-home-child-and-adult-care-services/
For toddler and infant care, Tufts families have 10 priority access slots at four Bright Horizons centers in
Somerville and Cambridge. Contact Bright Horizons for availability and cost. http://www.brighthorizons.com/
Childcare referral and counseling services, available through the Tufts Employee Assistance Program,
http://hr.tufts.edu/benefits/employee-assistance-program/, username "tufts" and password "employee."
Eliot-Pearson Children's School, preschool (age 2.9 years and up) through second grade. Part-time care, flexible
days, modified school calendar. Apply in September the year before you wish to enroll your child.
http://ase.tufts.edu/epcs/
Bright Horizons at Teele Square, preschool (age 2.9 years and up) through Kindergarten. Full-time, 5-day-per-week
coverage, limited holidays. Tufts part-time and full-time employees and students receive priority admission. Apply in
September the year before you wish to enroll your child, though mid-year openings may exist. http://child-carepreschool.brighthorizons.com/MA/Somerville/teelesquare
Self-care
The Care.com Backup Care service can be used for self-care. Call if you need someone to pick you up after a medical
procedure or drive you to a doctor's appointment, or need help around the house while you are ill. Users pay an hourly fee;
available to all benefits-eligible employees. http://hr.tufts.edu/backup-in-home-child-and-adult-care-services/
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Lactation rooms (also see the HR Health and Wellness website, http://hr.tufts.edu/wpcontent/uploads/BEN_NursingMothers.pdf)
The following rooms are dedicated lactation spaces; call or email to reserve a time and obtain a key or lock code.
 Ballou Hall, first floor. Lisa Bloom, lisa.bloom@tufts.edu, 617-627-4815.
 The Fletcher School, Cabot 207. Key at Hall of Flags reception desk; Lynette Badin, lynette.badin@tufts.edu, 617627-3329.
 Halligan Hall, Room 219. Electrical and Computer Engineering administration office, ece@tufts.edu, 617-627-3217,
or the Computer Science administration office, csadmin@cs.tufts.edu, 617-627-2225.
 CLIC building, 574 Boston Ave., Room 125. Lorin Polidora, Manager of Administrative Services,
lorin.polidora@tufts.edu, 617-627-1108.
 Tisch Library, Room 104. Tisch Administration Office, tischadmin@tufts.edu, 617-627-3345.
If these rooms do not meet your needs and you need an ad-hoc space elsewhere on campus, please contact Johny Lainé,
ADA Specialist in the Office of Equal Opportunity: johny.laine@tufts.edu, 617-627-6363.
Additional Resources
E-lists in support of work/life issues
The Committee on Faculty Work/Life maintains e-lists on the following topics to facilitate peer-to-peer support and
communication: childcare, elder/adult care, students with families, and TTMothers (for faculty mothers of young
children). To subscribe to any of these lists, visit:
https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=67809486.
Housing assistance (also see the Work/Life Committee wiki section on Housing Assistance)
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AS&E Faculty Transitional Housing Program for incoming faculty, as well as for existing faculty in exigent
circumstances: http://as.tufts.edu/about/workingas/housingassist.htm
Walnut Hill Properties rents apartments, mostly in two- or three-family wood frame houses near the
Medford/Somerville campus, to members of the university community. 781-391-5300, or
walnuthillproperties@comcast.net.
Off-Campus Housing Resource Center is available to students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Listings of area real
estate agents, as well as other information of interest to potential renters. http://ase.tufts.edu/och.
Mortgage Service Program is provided to Tufts employees by Professional Advantage Financial Group. For further
information, please contact the company directly at 800-809-5626 or on-line at
http://www.proadvantage.com/index.aspx?code=tufts and identify yourself as a current/future Tufts employee.
Health and Wellness
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The Wellness Center, located in the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, offers on-site medical care, health
assessment and coaching, and disease management through Marathon Health. 617-627-0467 or
http://hr.tufts.edu/healthandwellness/ to book an appointment. Available to all employees and their spouses or
qualified same-sex domestic partners, regardless of whether they have Tufts health insurance.
The Employee Assistance Program offers counseling for a range of personal issues both in person in the Wellness
Center and over the phone. http://hr.tufts.edu/benefits/employee-assistance-program/, username "tufts" and password
"employee," or 1-800-451-1834 to make an appointment or get a referral.
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