Anthony Tricoli and Robin J. Tricoli share a nine-year marriage and, as of last year, the title of college president—Mr. Tricoli has led Georgia Perimeter College for almost six years, and Mrs. Tricoli now leads Hiwassee College, in Tennessee.
When she became president last spring, after serving three years as an associate provost at the University of Georgia, he was her biggest supporter, even though her taking the job meant having to live three hours apart. “I was actually with her 120 percent because I have to do most of the driving,” says Mr. Tricoli, who commutes most weekends to Madisonville, Tenn., where Mrs. Tricoli lives on the college’s campus.
They agree their approaches to leadership are similar. “We are highly collaborative, constantly bringing individuals to the table, and open to new ideas,” she says. But there are differences, too. For example, he e-mails late into the night, while she ceases correspondences after 9 p.m. He is also more assertive, he says. “Let’s put it this way: Robin is more contained than I am.”
Despite the differences, the couple—who met at a business conference before either one became a college president and didn’t go on their first date until three years later—still see each other as a “sounding board,” conferring often throughout the workday about issues that arise on their campuses.
But they don’t always heed each other’s advice. “We’re serving two different kinds of institutions, so it can be different,” Ms. Tricoli says. “In Anthony’s case, it’s a governmental entity, and half of his budget automatically comes to him. Every dollar that comes to my campus, I have to raise.”
The couple spends most weekends together. During the week, they stay in touch by talking on the phone every morning while having breakfast and every night before going to bed. They also plan “work free” date nights, when they try to keep the discussion far from academe and more on family (each has a grown child from a previous marriage), their relationship, and their two dogs.
They also do what they can to play the role of presidential spouse for each other. Mr. Tricoli arranges his schedule to be with his wife at college events and functions, and she does the same. When plans conflict, they take turns.
One reason the arrangement works, Mr. Tricoli says, is that “we don’t play that game of ‘I’m the boss or you’re the boss.’ ... There is no president in our marriage.”