Progeny

If you're like me, you have welcomed the thought of sending your academic progeny out into the world, to build careers of their own and perpetuate some small aspect of your own worldview in your particular academic discipline.  As a large and (at least historically) highly regarded institution of higher learning, the U of A should expect to populate the other universities and colleges of Canada with its graduates.  In fact, there has been a substantial push to increase our graduate enrollment over the last few years, part of the benighted "top 20 by 2020" pipe dream.

But is it ethical to take in and educate ever more graduate students at a time like this?  Despite the ticking demographic time bomb of the aging professoriate in Canadian advanced education, there do not seem to be very many opportunities for young would-be academics.  Even in the case those who are fortunate enough to secure a position, should we encourage them?  The current trend seems to be towards a dissolution of the implied social compact, in which excellent teaching and research were reciprocated with good standard of living, some job security, and an ability to focus on what one does best.  Universities seem to be constantly engaging in trickle-down economics, farming out to departments or even individual professors many of the things that they used to provide.  (A somewhat trivial, but very telling, example is shredding of old exams, which used to be done by our University, but now has to be contracted to outside vendors and paid for out of departmental operating funds.)  More and more forms are required, with no help on the faculty side, but presumably an ever increasing number of functionaries to generate them within the administrative bureaucracy.  Faculty salaries are not coming close to keeping up with the cost of living. Federal research funding is flat or perhaps decreasing slightly.  Is this going to be a good life for those who manage to crack into it?

So, my question is, what are you telling your best students, those who could compete for good jobs anywhere?  Are you encouraging them to consider academics?  Law school?  Or perhaps they should aim for administration, a field with seemingly unlimited growth potential, and no accountability.