Not much has been written about presidential spouses. This is a curious fact in light of the extremely important role that she or he plays on every college or university campus in America. But then most of these spouses are used to going about their daily work without much fanfare.
Almost universally the president's spouse is expected to fulfill institutional responsibilities such as raising money, managing the presidential home, and otherwise representing the university at functions the president cannot attend. And, for the women in particular, we seem to expect enormous sacrifices.
Over the last several years, as a lawyer working on presidential contracts, I have been studying the role of spouses and the recognition they receive -- or lack thereof. Back in January 2002, I first met with presidential spouses at the Council of Independent Colleges' Presidents Institute. Almost all of the spouses I met that winter were women, and they wanted me to focus on spousal compensation. A study done by CIC had found that 23 percent of the members' spouses were receiving some level of compensation for the work that they did on their college campuses.
When I asked the CIC spouses what they perceived as impediments to their receiving compensation, they listed the following: the local media, faculty opposition, certain trustees, and their own husbands. Several spouses went into great detail about the specifics of all of the work they did on a daily basis for their colleges. Because the president's time is limited, often the spouse will be dispatched to give speeches and serve on a multitude of voluntary boards in the local area on behalf of the college. Each such assignment not only takes time and energy, but also takes spouses away from their own work, activities, and families.
Since then, I have also met with the spouses of presidents in the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and in the Association of American Universities. Some of these spouses receive compensation. For example, Mary Ann Shaw, the wife of Kenneth A. Shaw, chancellor of Syracuse University, receives about $65,000 a year. Mary Catherine Birgeneau, the wife of the president of the University of Toronto, Robert J. Birgeneau, receives a stipend of about $68,000 a year. Others receive stipends that range from a token $5,000 to $75,000 in one case.
While some may think these numbers substantial, one spouse of a major research institution's president told me recently that she estimated her full-time work on behalf of that university to be worth between $120,000 and $200,000. Since this person has herself raised millions of dollars for her university, such a salary would be clearly justified for a staff person who was as successful. Compensation doesn't always come in the form of money. Some presidential spouses who also are professors on the campus may receive a lighter teaching load in lieu of outright payment in recognition of their extra duties.
One of the issues faced by presidential spouses is the question of title. Most people on the campus, out of respect and affection, refer to the president's wife as the "First Lady." When it comes to a male spouse, he is usually referred to by his first name or whatever academic title he may have. Sometimes the only title a spouse receives is Mr. or Mrs. Among the Nasulgc and the AAU spouses, the following titles also have been used in different circumstances: associate of the university; associate to the president; senior adviser for institutional advancement; senior counselor for external relations; university representative; associate of the chancellor; special assistant to the president; and administrative assistant to the president.
Like their colleagues at smaller institutions, the spouses of presidents of large, public or private institutions, work extremely hard on behalf of their universities. They want, and I believe they should receive, appropriate recognition for all their time and effort. The good news is that we are in a time of transition for presidential spouses, and slowly, boards of trustees are coming around to seeing the wisdom of this.
Trustees, however, like the rest of us, need to understand better the day-to-day obligations of a presidential spouse. I can report from many conversations with presidential spouses that they maintain separate calendars of all their own campus commitments and often have schedules that run seven days a week, for months on end. Indeed, one spouse of a large public university told me she had great difficulty finding five days in a row she could take off to go visit her old college roommate.
While most presidential spouses are very adept at helping the president to raise money and to maintain important relationships with trustees and other significant people in their communities, generally spouses stay out of the internal administration of the institution. Consider, for example, the title given to Alice Huang, wife of David Baltimore, president of the California Institute of Technology, holds. She is special assistant for external affairs -- a title designed to send the message that she is not the person to see about issues regarding the internal administration of the university.
I have found, in discussions with dozens of trustees around the country, that by and large, they are not opposed to compensating the president's spouse. However, many board members, especially at public universities, are not willing to risk public criticism for doing so. What they often say is that while they would approve a stipend for the president's spouse, they do not want to do so if it would "harm the university."
I have also seen a difference in attitude between male and female spouses. The male spouses who tend to have their own professions or are retired, generally avoid titles, or doing anything in public that might draw attention to them and interfere with their spouse's role as president. And while there are a few exceptions, male spouses generally do not seek compensation and assume more limited roles as the president's spouse, than their female counterparts.
On the other hand, most wives of male presidents have given up their careers and devoted themselves completely to the president and whatever institution he is leading. Indeed, one CIC spouse told me that she had begun her professional life as a geneticist, but because she had moved five times with her husband, she was unable ever to put down roots in her field.
Judging from my interactions with spouses of different ages, it is clear to me that the younger spouses are more adamant about receiving both recognition and compensation for what they do. I see this as quite appropriate and hope that trustees will respond accordingly.
Finally, it seems to me that this is an area where private colleges and universities will take the lead. While they too may be criticized for compensating spouses, they are more insulated from media criticism and generally less sensitive to it than the trustees of public universities.
Nevertheless, those of us who specialize in, and study, compensation issues in higher education should encourage trustees of all institutions to move away from the outdated notion of the president and his or her spouse as "two for the price of one."
