At Notre Dame, some professors share more than department meetings and syllabi. They share car rides to campus, research ideas over dinner and sometimes even a kid.
Across campus, married faculty couples are balancing teaching, research and family life together. Some even work in the same departments.
The University’s Office of Human Resources declined to answer what percentage of professors are married to each other, but shared that about 61% of faculty members are married, while 11% are not married and 28% are unknown. Among staff, 62% are married, 14% are not married and 24% are unknown.
For Antônio José Lemos, a teaching scholar of theology, and his spouse, Catherine Lemos (Duggan), also a teaching scholar of theology, their partnership is both personal and professional. The two met as classmates in a theology Ph.D. program and became close friends before beginning their relationship.
The couple has been married for nearly two years and recently welcomed their son Maximilian, who is already becoming familiar with academic life.
Working at the same university brings unique opportunities and humor to their daily routines.
“It’s fun,” Lemos wrote in a statement. “We drive to work together and even share the same office. We also teach the same course and we are always seeking the other’s feedback on ideas for teaching and research.”
Students often learn about the connection in lighthearted ways. Sometimes Lemos compares his classes with Duggan’s class.
“We are already starting to study the New Testament, but my wife’s students are still in the book of Exodus,” Lemos wrote.
The couple frequently collaborates academically as well. Early in their relationship, they co-authored a conference paper that later became a published book chapter. They also attend conferences together, sometimes with their son.
“Our son, who is 10 months old, has been to three theology conferences already,” Lemos wrote.
Another faculty couple, Ana Flores-Mireles and Felipe Santiago-Tirado, share a similar story of partnership shaped by academia. The two met while pursuing doctoral degrees and conducting research at Cornell University.
As dual-career academics, they quickly learned to coordinate their professional paths. When applying for postdoctoral positions, they focused on cities with multiple universities to increase the chances of both finding opportunities.
“The first thing that we started doing is looking for places where there are several universities,” Flores-Mireles said. “Even if one department cannot hire two people, we would have other options.”
Working in the same field has strengthened their relationship. Flores-Mireles said having a partner who understands the demands of research makes a significant difference.
“You need to find a good best friend, because that person needs to actually understand your job and the long hours,” she said. “Before we were married, I was working at 2 a.m. or coming back to the lab at 3 a.m. and he understood that.”
Today, the two frequently collaborate professionally, combining their research expertise on projects and publications.
“We decided to work together officially,” Flores-Mireles said. “He works with fungal pathogens and I work with urinary tract infections, so we found ways to connect our research.”
Students sometimes discover their connection in unexpected ways, such as seeing the couple’s young son Liam moving between their offices.
“I think it’s always a surprise,” Tirado said.
Balancing academic careers with family life requires careful planning, the couple said, especially without extended family nearby.
“Communication is very important,” Tirado said. “We have to check each other’s calendars constantly.”
They emphasized that partnership in academia means supporting one another’s careers equally.
“We really value each one’s success,” Flores-Mireles said. “If one of us needs to focus on something for work, the other steps in.”
Brian Mulholland, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Mathematics, and Kathryn Mulholland, also an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Mathematics, first met during graduate school when Brian Mulholland gave Kathryn Mulholland a campus tour.
“When I was a first-year graduate student and Kathryn was a prospective student, I gave Kathryn a tour of campus,” Brian Mulholland wrote in a statement. “I like to tell people that she instantly fell in love with me and chose Notre Dame for grad school because she wanted to date me.”
Kathryn offered her own version of the story.
“Yes, Brian gave me a two-hour tour of campus,” Kathryn Mulholland wrote in a statement. “His love for Notre Dame is third only to his love for God and me.”
The couple has been married for almost eight years and were married at Holy Family Church in South Bend.
Some of their favorite early memories together reflect both humor and care in their relationship.
“Kathryn gave me a pair of gloves shortly after we started dating because I refuse to buy things that keep me warm,” Brian Mulholland wrote. “She wrote a cute note with them with a good pun.”
Kathryn Mulholland remembered their first official date.
“Brian was a groomsman in his best friend’s wedding in the morning,” she wrote. “He invited me to a Notre Dame hockey game and concert in the afternoon. I accidentally wore white and every usher assumed we had just gotten married.”
Working at the same university has strengthened their partnership, the couple said.
“Notre Dame is such a great community. I love the fact that I get to have lunch with my wife and talk about our classes and our students,” Brian Mulholland wrote.
“I share a lot in class, so yes they know we are married,” he continued. “I even have brought my son into class with me, and so students have gotten to know our family life.”
The couple frequently collaborates on teaching and classroom ideas.
“Teaching, all the time,” Kathryn Mulholland wrote. “It’s been very convenient to have a go-to substitute and very fruitful to have a sounding board for ideas.”
Both professors said balancing family life and academia requires intentional priorities.
“Academia allows me to have an unusual schedule which is a challenge at times,” Brian Mulholland wrote, “but it also allows me to bring my son around and have little moments with my wife that I think would be hard in a corporate setting.”
“Regardless of workplace or employer, it’s about prioritizing the right things,” Kathryn Mulholland wrote. “For me that’s God, husband, kids, then everything else.”
