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[concordancia]

I am not sure I agree with the NYC example. A large portion of our faculty has a spouse at the R1 down the road (I have yet to meet someone whose wife or same sex partner works at the R1, though), and there are at least three other colleges/universities in the same town as the R1, plus more than I care to count (I just found out about another one) within an hour's driving distance. There are certain areas of the country that do allow the other spouse to keep looking - NYC, Boston, Research Triangle...

On the other hand, I think partner hiring (and I have seen both same sex and non-married heterosexual versions of this) is one of those little perks to make up for our lousy salaries. We have many of them in academia.

-no partner of any sex to influence my opinion on this matter

[nothernprof]

Sorry, folks, but it took us ten years to get an entry level job for my partner, who holds a Ph.D. from a top ten program. Ten years, and I should add, more than one outside offer.

Why are you sorry again?

It takes longer for some couples than others even in the same place. It took us 6 months after hire to get the spouse on the tt. Another couple was hired together when they both applied for the same job (funds were found for a second full tt line). Another two faculty members' spouses was given a tt line in another department at time of hire. Another couple had to wait 6 years.  Another couple split 1.5 lines in one dept, although they eventually got their own full lines. Two other couples in one department got their spouses out on the tt within about 3 years. 

These happened to be hetero couples, but our policy is neutral in wording on that issue, referring instead to "domestic partner".

[tenured_feminist]

Sorry, folks, but it took us ten years to get an entry level job for my partner, who holds a Ph.D. from a top ten program. Ten years, and I should add, more than one outside offer.

Why are you sorry again?

It takes longer for some couples than others even in the same place. It took us 6 months after hire to get the spouse on the tt. Another couple was hired together when they both applied for the same job (funds were found for a second full tt line). Another two faculty members' spouses was given a tt line in another department at time of hire. Another couple had to wait 6 years.  Another couple split 1.5 lines in one dept, although they eventually got their own full lines. Two other couples in one department got their spouses out on the tt within about 3 years. 

These happened to be hetero couples, but our policy is neutral in wording on that issue, referring instead to "domestic partner".

My point is merely that the perception that fabulous jobs are frequently handed out to partners of new hires like potato chips is inaccurate. I am now in a position where a job for my partner is a non-negotiable piece of any attempt to hire me, but I am only able to say that because of status and privilege. And there are jobs that would be decent fits for me for which I will never apply because they don't accommodate partners. I'm cool with that because I have options, but I remember really well what it was like when I didn't.

[nothernprof]

My point is merely that the perception that fabulous jobs are frequently handed out to partners of new hires like potato chips is inaccurate.

I agree with you, but I think it is much more common now than it was 15-20 years ago, when such policies did not exist. 

Also, just to be clear, my university counts as an "average to very good" job, depending on your department. This is not a "fabulous" job, by any stretch.

[pyrope]

Just a small comment related to the debate about quality of education related to spousal hires.  Coming from a women in science (and math and engineering) perspective, there are studies showing that a large majority of female science PhDs are married to male PhDs, while a minority of male science PhDs are married to female PhDs.  That means that the dual career burden in SME fields is primarily felt by females (assuming that non-academic spouses are more flexible about job location).
That means that if a university is recruiting women to SME faculty, most of the time they will have an academic spouse.  Hence, if a university is looking to hire the top women, a spousal hiring policy will benefit them. 
I would argue that from an education perspective, a diverse faculty in SME fields improves recruitment of students and their overall education.

[dundee]

Anyone who honestly believes that academic couples have some kind of advantage on the job market is severely misinformed. Being part of an academic couple severely limits one's options on the market. If my spouse were not an academic, I would have been able to chose between at least three offers this year; however, since my spouse received a fantastic offer and we have no intention of living apart, my options were to either accept the offer within a two-hour drive of her offer, or be unemployed. None of the offers either of us received came with a spousal hire; it wasn't even possible at those institutions.

Sure, we chose to get married and choose to stay together, but being an academic couple is a huge handicap in terms of our individual careers. Those who have partners who are not in academia or are single should count themselves lucky that they have more mobility and only have to find one academic job and quite whining about some perceived advantage that academic couples enjoy.