next »

[mouseman]

I don't know what you mean by "routinely."  At my old school, we had a couple who were full profs in related disciplines in the college. We had another couple who were assistant prof and semi-permanent VAP in the same discipline. And another couple who were associate prof and sometime part-time/sometime full time lecturer in different disciplines but in the same department. Yet another couple who were associate prof (formerly assistant prof) and mid-level adminicritter in related department.  As most of these couples did not share last names, it took me a while to figure out who was married to whom.  In all cases, except the first example, of course, the male has the better job.

I would guess (based on what Ive seen and read), that this is the result of three things:  A, a male faculty member/administrator is more likely to get a spousal accommodation for his  female partner, B, a woman is more likely to negotiate for a better accommodation for her partner, and C, a woman is more likely to be a trailing spouse and more willing to accept a non-TT position as a trailing spouse.

[octoprof]

I don't know what you mean by "routinely."  At my old school, we had a couple who were full profs in related disciplines in the college. We had another couple who were assistant prof and semi-permanent VAP in the same discipline. And another couple who were associate prof and sometime part-time/sometime full time lecturer in different disciplines but in the same department. Yet another couple who were associate prof (formerly assistant prof) and mid-level adminicritter in related department.  As most of these couples did not share last names, it took me a while to figure out who was married to whom.  In all cases, except the first example, of course, the male has the better job.

I would guess (based on what Ive seen and read), that this is the result of three things:  A, a male faculty member/administrator is more likely to get a spousal accommodation for his  female partner, B, a woman is more likely to negotiate for a better accommodation for her partner, and C, a woman is more likely to be a trailing spouse and more willing to accept a non-TT position as a trailing spouse.

To put this in perspective, these hires were spread over many years.

[ruralguy]

I'm at a SLAC.

Over the years, I think there have only been a few spousal hires.

Only one in decades has been a spousal TT hire for both folks, and the rest were
TT and adjunct, and that sort of thing (i.e., one spouse was clearly "trailing").

We also have a number of folks with an academic spouse at another college nearby (that is, either their spouse has a TT at other place, and they do as well, or some other combo).

Then, there are folks like me who had the sense to fall in love with another prof at the school AFTER they both got a TT position :-)

[tenured_feminist]

I told Old Uni patiently that I loved the place and would happily retire there, but couldn't stay without some resolution to my dual career dilemma. Lots of sympathetic nodding along the way, but the only times anything got put on the table was when I presented an external job offer. The first time, the match was sufficient and I stayed. After a few years, the chewing gum and string fell off Mr. T_F's job and, despite my making it pretty clear that we could not stay without something more than unpredictable and contingent labor, nothing surfaced. The second time, the recruiting university anted up a full-time career position for Mr. T_F because I told them that was what it would take to move me. After much hand-wringing, angst, and expressions of passionate love for me, Old Uni became Old Uni by failing to put anything real on the table for him. Oddly enough, after moving my already adequate career launched into a strong upward trajectory, making (now not so) New Uni look like a bunch of geniuses.

I gather that Old Uni has become a lot more proactive in doing spousal/partner stuff, though that's slowed down with the recession. One of my happy administrative tasks on my way out was to help shepherd through a partner hire in the department I was chairing for a very wonderful junior gay man whose senior partner had been hired with tenure the previous year in another department.

[flutter]

My partner and I searched for several years for positions at the same institution with little luck. We first ended up at universities about 2 hours apart, then, after 4 years of searching, got offers together, but it turned out to be a terrible place to work, so we are considering getting out of academia. . .

[tee_bee]

Administrators can always have their spouses hired.

Junior female faculty can never have their spouses hired.

All other cases fall somewhere in between.

I know I am responding to an older thread, but....

At my southeastern R1 STEM school, a junior woman in a social science department (and a rising star) negotiated a spousal hire in another social science discipline and department, and he's well liked and doing good things. And he did fill a hole in the department, so there's that. Never say never.

[spyzowin]

We don't do it. But we're public and extremely bureaucratic. Matter of fact, I don't even think it's legal under our bylaws or charter.  I cannot envision what it would take to make it happen.

[charlesch]

In my current R-1 univ. (one of the tops in Canada), we regularly offer contract-based positions 3-year (and renewable for another term) for the spouse of a new hire. One colleagues' spouse got such a position and worked for two years before getting a tenure track position elsewhere and taught for a year there before being hired back in the former (our) univ. We also offer tenure-tract positions for spouses as well in more competitive situations. One colleague worked for two years before its spouse graduated and then the latter was offered through open search a tenure tract positions as well. A third colleague was hired as an ABD whose spouse was also hired on the tenure track, in the same year, after ABD presented competing offers from other R-1 universities. So my univ. seems to be quite family friendly when compared with most other research universities.