Only a fool avoids the inevitable. Q is for Questions. Telemarketers always start by asking you something because they know that the person who asks questions generally controls the conversation. The official who sits behind a desk uses it for authority. Your questions will act as a balance of power.
R is for Reality.
The era of the ivory tower has long since faded in the brutal America where marketing is everything. Higher education is getting more guild-like every year. The ratio of successful job placements after graduation, in fact, is a key determinant if a program continues. And rightly so, for these days the prime motive for all the expense of time and money is to lay a foundation for economic independence. When the average faculty credit load per semester is six or a little higher, the answer is definitely research.