Day of a Scientist 175 



Also my kids are growing up, and Niederlin admits the 

 children of faculty members for free and pays most of their 

 tuition if they want to go to another small college. I'm not 

 sure that mine wouldn't be better off in a somewhat smaller 

 place than this Ph.D. factory we're in. 



"The only thing that bothers me, of course, is the idea 

 of leaving the big-time circuit. I know I'll be renouncing 

 the possibiUty of contributing to research in a really dis- 

 tinguished way. Of course, there is plenty of competent 

 work being done in the top thirty or forty of the country's 

 liberal arts colleges, and Niederlin is one of the best. The 

 fact of the matter is, though, that you are expected to spend 

 a good deal more time teaching and participating in what 

 the catalogue calls the 'life of the college,' than is true in 

 a place like this." 



Sam paused, and Bill recognized his cue. "Everyone 

 knows, Sam, that these are the toughest decisions one has 

 to make. But let's get one thing straight right away. You're 

 welcome here as long as you want to stay. As you know, 

 I've already asked the Dean for a tenure appointment for 

 you, and it will come up at the next meeting of the regents. 

 I don't see why there should be any difficulty. Everybody 

 in the department likes you, and I would very much disHke 

 losing you after our years together. On the other hand, I 

 don't feel justified in urging you to stay against your better 

 judgment. Old Stillman at Niederlin has only three or four 

 more years to go as head of the department, and I should 

 think you would have an excellent chance to succeed him. 



"As a matter of fact," Bill muttered a little uncomfort- 

 ably, "they said something to that effect when they talked 

 to me last week." 



"It's a little hard to predict what you'll get if you stay 

 here. If I should leave, for example (and I certainly don't 

 have any plans to do so), the board might weU want to 



