Experience with spousal/dual career hires
I'm starting a tenure track assistant professor position this fall in an engineering department at a midwestern R1. My wife also wants to go the TT route in a different field, though she's a year or so behind me in terms of her research career. We had originally planned to apply together in the upcoming cycle, but I was forced to apply early when my funding ran out due to the current research/political climate in the US.
During my interview, I was very up front with the department about my marital status and my wife's career goals. The department chair was understandably noncommittal (especially since the university doesn't have an official policy for dual career accommodations), but has gone to a lot of effort to make connections with departments/centers at the university which could be a good fit. She has a few meetings set up for our second visit with chairs and other faculty, including at least one where the admin assistant included "potential faculty hire" or similar in the calendar invite. I've been optimistic about her chances, but my wife has been trying to temper my optimism.
Does anyone here have experience with dual career hiring/accommodations they would be willing to share? Is it reasonable to be optimistic at this stage, all things considered?
Thanks in advance!