The institution will not appoint a spouse if there’s any chance that there is someone more qualified in that field who would be better for the job.

It is extremely difficult at Harvard to ask a department to offer an appointment to a scholar it doesn’t particularly want or need—no matter how qualified that person may be.

“At some institutions, a dean or president can be strong enough to lean on a department to hire the spouse, but you can’t do that here,” Charles Maier says.

At Harvard, all tenure recommendations ultimately come from the departments. Harvard has not set up an official network in the Boston area to deal with the issue.

But, in an unofficial capacity, the University seeks to work with other schools in the Boston area to find suitable employment for academic spouses.

“We’re very lucky in that there are so many institutions in the Boston area,” says Associate Dean for Faculty Development Laura Gordon Fisher.

But professors and administrators say Harvard’s elite position might make other universities hesitant to take Harvard’s leftovers.

“How do you politely say, We want Mrs. X, but Mr. X isn’t quite as good, so you should take her,” Maier asks.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Professors and administrators seem to agree that Harvard’s continued inability to deal with the two couples problem has hurt the University in its quest to recruit the world’s top minds.

“I happen to know of several of cases where Harvard has missed making a first-rate appointment for that reason,” Jasanoff says. “Most people who have dealt with Harvard have some sense that Harvard could try a little harder on this score, but of course it’s part of being “number one” that you don’t have to try that hard.”

Winthrop Professor of History Stephan Thernstrom says he agrees—although Harvard’s loss might be good for the country overall.

“It doubtless is not bad for American society if academic talent is spread around a little,” Thernstrom says.

But administrators say the problem is on Harvard’s radar screen.

At a meeting of Harvard’s deans last summer, the University’s top administrators batted around possible solutions to the problem. While they did not arrive at any concrete solutions, University Provost Steven E. Hyman says the administrators recognize the importance of the decades-old problem.

“One of the things that we shared is an attempt to really help each other when we’re trying to recruit two people at once to the University,” Hyman says.

Hyman cites the example of the University pursuing a chemist and a historian.

“If the chemistry department doesn’t have a slot and lab space, there’s not much that can be done within Harvard,” Hyman says. “Conversely, when there is a space at the University...then I think the deans are going to be aware of the need to be helpful to each other.”

Hyman says the deans also discussed what the University can do to help spouses find jobs at other universities in the area.

“We need to do more of that,” Hyman says.