[PEN-L:6801] Old "foggies"/"fogeys"

["Michael Keaney" <M.Keaney@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, May 13, 1999, 7:30 pm, Michael Perelman wrote:
>

>Jim Devine made a point that I raised some time ago.  In my department, the
>average tenure must be about 20 years.  We have no young people and we old
>foggies hang on.  Previously, when we had more openings, some young people did
>not get permanent jobs.  Job tenure is now much higher here, but that represents
>a step back from the 70s.

One possible advantage accruing from present circumstances - more an
unintended side effect - is that the so-called old fogeys preserve what
remains of heterodox teaching and research. The vast majority of new PhDs
and other potential applicants are most likely to be versed only in the
conventional wisdom, given the paucity of heterodox provision, a situation
likely only to get worse in the foreseeable future. Thus, paradoxically, our
ability to identify, investigate and remedy problems of tenure and
recruitment may diminish as these are identified, investigated and remedied.

Michael

ps As a "lurker" of some weeks' standing, may I say a big thankyou to all
who have provided an invaluable information service concerning the travesty
of a moral crusade grinding incessantly onward in Yugoslavia.

Michael Keaney
Department of Economics
Glasgow Caledonian University
70 Cowcaddens Road
Glasgow G4 0BA
Scotland, U.K.