Like the reputation of an individual department, the reputation of a university is a powerful magnet for attracting outstanding students and faculty, as well as outside research grants and alumni contributions. . . . In other words, universities recruit superstar faculty for the same reason Las Vegas gambling casinos recruit fabulous singers and entertainers to attract customers and big money. The ongoing competition among major universities to hire the best research faculty explains why such faculty neglect teaching. They are not being hired to teach. Hiring famous faculty to teach unmotivated and underprepared undergraduates would be like hiring major league baseball players to teach and coach little league teams.
Research universities are the big leagues.
They uphold standards and provide leadership. Michigan s Alan Smith, on the eve of his retirement as Vice-President for Academic Affairs, explained it to Daily reporter Rebecca Warner. Smith s vision of the University as a super-selective, graduate oriented, special institute has been reflected consistently in his administrative policies. Our role in the past has been graduate and professional education in most fields, he says. The state can t afford many such institutions, but I believe it needs one, and we should be it. . . .