It is (was?) a well known fact that something like
70% of the professoriate is in the same 10-year age
bracket. And that bracket (I am one of them) is in
the 55 to 65 year range. That means that about 70% of
the professoriate (without regard to subject) will retire
in the next decade. Even the most pessimistic predictions
about undergraduate numbers do not reach this level.
Therefore, unless university administrations are more ruthless
than even I can imagine, there should be a large number of
faculty openings in the next 10 years. Of course, the U.S. may
follow the patterns of Italy and France and run sections of
100, 500, or, in one case reported recently, a section of
10,000 for an introductory philosophy class. The latter was
scheduled for a lecture theatre with a seating capacity of
1,000!!
Yes, encourage your students to go to graduate school.
William Proctor Williams
Department of English
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
internet: TB0WPW1@MVS.CSO.NIU.EDU
or: TB0WPW1@CORN.CSO.NIU.EDU
Telephone: (815) 758-4565
or
(815) 753-6608
Fax: (815) 753-0606