The impact of the down economy on academia…

… more specifically on hiring trends, on Leiter and Alfred Brophy on the Faculty Lounge Blog here and here. They make some interesting comments and predictions. I may post on this later when I’ve had more time to think about the topic, but I’ll posit two quick thoughts here: 1) any downturn in the economy creates institutional reactions, true, but it also creates personal reactions to those reactions. If teaching loads go up or tenure becomes more difficult (two of the predicted effects of the economic downturn), then academia becomes less attractive to certain individuals who may pursue alternative career paths. This, in turn, has its own implications. 2) A downturn in the economy also creates opportunities for those institutions who are better situated to deal with it – poaching may become more prevalent as more financially flush institutions are able to attract laterals from relatively less well off institutions.