Presidential Spouses, Frenemies, and Other Reading

By way of Stephen Bainbridge’s blog comes word of an essay by Daphne Patai, professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in which she bemoans the politicization of the faculty-hiring process at her university. Patai excerpts portions of her university’s “Supplemental Search Instructions,” which urge search committees to ask candidates questions that seem designed more to determine their level of political correctness than their ability to do the job. Patai notes that “Gauging levels of ‘commitment’ to what are essentially political issues has nothing to do with one’s academic expertise.”

FemaleScienceProfessor has some advice for academic couples facing the two-body problem:

If one of you already has a tenure-track position, should you look for a different position pre-tenure? Yes. One of the most efficient ways to solve the twobodyproblem is to get an offer from another place. I was told by my first university that there was absolutely no way they could hire my husband.. until I got another offer, at which time a tenure-track position for my husband magically appeared.

Is it better to wait for tenure? No, don’t wait. You are more portable as an Assistant Professor. You may have more opportunities to move at the junior level.

Over at Confessions of a Community College Dean,
a reader’s question about the use of honorifics for university presidents’ spouses has sparked a discussion about the role of university “first mates.”

Don’t miss Historiann’s latest post on workplace bullies, which looks at how to spot a “workplace frenemy,” or a foe disguised as a friend. You know the type — they offer advice, (so-called) compliments and encouragement to your face, but belittle you when your back is turned.