The two-body problem remains a problem for both the recruitment and retention of ecologists at all institutions, from soft-money and R1 to SLAC. Discussions around this issue are often discouraged and can be trivialized during negotiations, leading to challenges for early career scholars on the tenure track. While I do not have advice to provide to make this situation easier, I encourage institutions to create and contribute to funds to retain faculty through spousal hires. Continuing to ignore this issue, places a large amount of stress on pre-tenure faculty during a time period when increased support is needed.
