Emerging men
Sir: May I call public attention to the growing corruption of appointment procedures in the universities through the involvement of the press in the discussion of appointments to lectureships and chairs, particularly in the social sciences. The latest instance of this is the discussion in the gossip column of The Times of appointments to chairs of politics in Leeds and Sheffield Universities. We are told there that a certain named individual is " emerging" as the new professor of politics at Leeds. It is hinted that another named individual is being passed over in favour of this " emerging " man. It is stated that certain other invididuals are involved.
This puffery is odious and unfair. It must be borne in mind that the man "emerging " at Leeds is one of the organisers of the Council for Academic Freedom and Democracy. This organisation has been active in endeavours to blacken the names of men and universities who have resstecl jobbery on behalf of the Council's soul brothers. Presumably if this emerging" man does not emerge as Professor of Politics at Leeds there will be a campaign about political discrimination in Leeds University and maybe even in Sheffield. This is what happened at the University of Birmingham.
The fact is that the man " emerging " at Leeds and the political clique to which he belongs have all been appointed and promoted in British universities under normal procedures which apply to everyone. They have the same chances as others in the matter of jobs. But they seem determined to introduce political agitation as means of influencing decision on their behalf to the detriment of those who are too decent and too modest to engage in publicity stunts and to leak information about themselves to journalists.
H. S. Ferns 1 Kesteven Close, Sir Harry's Road, Birmingham B15 2UT
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