>
> I knew Walter Michaels at UC Berkeley. At the time he struck me as an
> intelligent opportunist. I suppose that probably describes 90% of the
> people in academia....so maybe it's not worth much to remark upon it.
I know I'm just defending myself and my colleagues, but I must contest this. Most of the faculty that I work with could obtain far more filthy lucre working in the private sector. For instance, the nursing faculty at my college educate students who make more than the faculty do when students begin their first job as RNs. For the most part, college faculty are not "opportunists"; they are people who fervently believe in the inherent individual and social benefits of learning. They deserve our gratitude, not our opprobrium.
Miles