Universities: Ole Miss Exodus

From the explosion at the University of Mississippi last fall came more fallout last week: an exodus of professors. Chancellor John D. Williams admitted only 16 resignations, but newsmen discovered about 35 in the works—more than one-third of the professors at Ole Miss.

The chemistry department will lose eight of its 13 professors, including the chairman. He joins two other 17-year veterans, the chairman of the classics and philosophy departments. Two of the four fulltime classicists are leaving. Three of the six art teachers are also leaving—one involuntarily. G. Ray Kerciu, the assistant art professor who was arrested for exhibiting his allegedly "obscene" riot paintings (TIME, April 19), is simply not being asked back, even though the charges were later dropped, and his lack of tenure gives him no recourse.

The university's notoriously low faculty pay is only part of the story. The main problem is "intolerable" segregationist pressure. Says one professor: "We can no longer devote our primary attention to academic pursuits." The worst effect is loss of the university's best men. "I think we're coming to the point where we have entrenched mediocrity," laments a seasoned scholar. He is staying, but like others he is in a turmoil that hardly seems conducive to good teaching. Says he: "Each day I get angry enough about the situation that I decide I'll leave. But when I sleep on it, the next morning I decide I'll stay and fight. But later the next day, I again reach the conclusion I'd better go." Almost all of those who do go can—considering pay and working conditions—expect to get better jobs.