Idaho’s State Board of Education is trying to reverse an antinepotism law that bars the state’s public universities from hiring presidential spouses, the Associated Press reports. Board members worry that the law will make it tougher for Idaho’s public universities to recruit and retain top leaders, many of whom have spouses in academe.
A case in point: Laura Vailas, a Ph.D. nutritionist married to the president of Idaho State University, Arthur Vailas, recently had to forgo applying for an $85,000 post at the university, lest she find herself in violation of the law, Mark Browning, a spokesman for the board, told Idaho lawmakers. Browning also pointed out that academic job opportunities for presidential spouses at nearby institutions are pretty scant thanks to the remote location of Idaho’s public four-year universities. And according to the AP, the Idaho law is stricter than similar laws in states such as Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, all of which permit their public universities to hire presidential spouses, but have rules in place to prevent conflicts of interest. It’s certainly not uncommon for universities to lure academics with the promise of a spousal hire.
Opponents of the proposed change, like Idaho House Rep. Bob Nonini, worry that “the link would still be too cozy. For instance, would the dean of a college at an Idaho university really be willing to discipline a president’s spouse?,” the AP writes.
What’s your institution’s policy on presidential spousal hires? Do you think it’s kosher for a university to hire a president’s spouse?
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10 Responses to Hiring the President’s Spouse
david_r_evans - February 3, 2010 at 6:03 pm
There are at least a couple more factors to consider:1. If the president’s spouse receives some benefits from the president’s employment, such as use of a car, meals, and so on, those benefits are subject to pretty strict IRS rules if the spouse is not an employee of the institution. I don’t know if anyone’s gotten in trouble over this sort of thing, but it’s a real issue.2. If the institution, board, etc., expect the president’s spouse to be a de facto part of the team, entertaining, being present at social events that are really business events, etc., then the institution should figure out how to compensate the spouse. The old model, where the president (male) had a wife who trailed along and provided the amenities for his career should be defunct. One way to ensure that is to compensate the spouse for his or her work on behalf of the college.As for academic positions for the spouse, those are a real challenge….
isugeezer - February 4, 2010 at 11:48 am
President Vailas and his wife were both aware of the policy when he accepted the position. Dr. (Mrs.) Vailas secured employment off-campus. Now, that employment has ended, and she wants a job at ISU. This, at a time when our adjunct faculty pool has been drained, and other drastic financial cuts have been made (and more are expected). The State Board is inclined toward the argument that high administrative salaries and spousal hires will ensure “quality” administrative personnel. That may be true. Are we in danger of losing President Vailas over this? Maybe. Is he the highest quality administrator we could have attracted? Maybe not.It doesn’t help that our local newspaper editor appears to be in the pocket of ISU top administrators. Yesterday’s newspaper featured an editorial stating that “Laura Vailas would clearly be an asset for ISU at a time when Idaho’s universities need all the help they can get.” (Idaho State Journal, Feb. 3, 2010). Help doing what? Spending money we don’t have to hire a person we don’t need?By amazing coincidence, three of our other recently-hired top administrators (Provost and two VPs) have secured employment for their spouses at ISU. One hiring–that of the Provost’s wife–caused controversy last fall because her salary was in excess of her ISU peers. Are we here at ISU just lucky that these wise new administrators and their spouses have chosen to grace us with their presence, or has ISU fallen into the hands of pirates?
blueberrycrunch - February 4, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Maybe ISU should give Dr. Vailas–the president’s wife–a job as an adjunct faculty member. Anybody know what the going rate is for adjuncts at ISU? $1500/course? $2000/course?
honore - February 5, 2010 at 8:09 am
Ask former Cornell University President Lehman that question. except there his wife didn’t apply for any job, she just became Queen of Cornell and started lopping off heads.The matter is quite simple…when a person is hired to do a job in the real world, seldom if ever are they asked…”would your wife/husband like a job too”? In this instance, she should be allowed to not only apply but she should also be allowed to take the post if she is chosen by the SC. Here however is the rub. Do we really think that the fact that she is the President’s wife is lost on the SC? And same sex couples are NEVER even considered in these matters, no matter how many will come screaming that they should be also. Nothing like spreading the corruption around.If they knew the U’s rules regarding this, there is nothing more to say. I am sure they will be able to make the payments on the HIS/HERS luxury edition Land Rovers just fine.
schaber - February 5, 2010 at 11:07 am
I agree with #3. Start the spouse off with an adjunct appointment before committing to a full position. Hiring one person should not guarantee employment for his or her spouse. There are plenty of great applicants who are willing to accept jobs without a “twofer” deal.
isugeezer - February 5, 2010 at 5:55 pm
To blueberrycrunch, honore, and schaber: I guess I wasn’t clear (#2, above). We’re in a hiring freeze. There is no adjunct position (or other position) available that matches the President’s wife’s credentials. A new position would be created for her.
blueberrycrunch - February 6, 2010 at 12:53 am
I guess I’ll have to ratchet up my level of snarkiness next time. To be clear, I don’t think any special accomodation should be made for Dr. Laura Vailas.
11218946 - February 7, 2010 at 11:56 pm
The policy is much more complex that it appears. Why limit the exclusion to Presidents’? Dean’s have husband’s, wives’, gay partners, ‘FRIENDS’ ETC. Opening the door or closing the door is filled with complexities. The only places that nepotism laws seem to be ignored is in athletics or politics. Family members are lobbyists, coaches’ sons, fathers and brothers are assistants or players. How are these situations addressed?
aandsdean - February 9, 2010 at 10:05 pm
#8, I hope, at least, that they hire senior executives who know not to make plurals with an apostrophe.
davidvictor - February 26, 2010 at 8:21 pm
The biggest problem is that there is no right answer. Even if there are strict nepotism laws, the world is still ruled by the “good old boys network”. It can look worse when a relative gets a job or a promotion, but there are just as many cases where a relative has a disadvantage because the boss is harder on them because of who they are. It is sad and wrong when unqualified or undeserving people get a promotion, but in this dog eat dog world, it is just something I think we have to deal with.Dave