Then they turned to hers, studying the beavers after their return. The Leucks are part of a growing number of two-career academic couples who work not only on the same campus, but in the same discipline. Just 30 years ago, antinepotism rules prohibited such an arrangement on most campuses, where administrators, worried about conflicts of interest, typically would hire only the male half of a pair. Finding places for both halves of a couple has become a major challenge in faculty recruiting. Finding two spots in the same department is particularly difficult.
Most universities still have some rules to prevent conflicts of interest.
On many campuses, professors are not allowed to participate in tenure proceedings for their spouses, nor are they allowed to set their spouses' salary. Once couples do land in the same department, some go their separate ways, carving out different specialties and working independently. Others end up sharing a laboratory, sitting on the same committees, and writing papers together. The Leucks constitute half of their small college's biology department. Working in such close quarters can pose challenges.