University of Virginia Library

Vast Increases In Hiring Of Professors
Indicates Expanding New Departments

By Rick Pearson
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Faculty is indeed in a state of
change, and perhaps the most surprising
aspect of this is the directions in which it
is changing. In addition to the
traditionally strong departments in the
College, many formerly weak
departments are benefiting from large
influxes of new professors.

Among the departments whose ranks
have swelled in the past year are English
and the various language departments. No
less than 21 new faculty members have
entered the English department, while 12
new professors have been added in the
various languages.

However, some of the small
departments have also begun major
programs of upgrading and renovation. Thus,
the Department of Religious Studies has been
increased by seven professors, the same number
that the Department of Environmental Sciences
has grown by. These numbers are even more
significant in view of the small size of the
departments.

Two Factors

There are usually two factors to which such
large increases in a department's faculty can be
attributed. One theory is that the department is
in a state of decay: supposedly the high-ranking
and reputable professors are leaving and the
Chairman is being forced to hire a large supply
of new faces.

The second theory to explain the growth is
that the department's program is being uplifted;
it is expanded into new areas and is accordingly
hiring new and reputable professors to meet the
needs. This theory is a more likely one to
explain this year's faculty expansion.

The English department is a case in point.
Its curriculum has been revamped entirely, a
fact that is easily seen by any casual reader of
the course catalogue. The department has
entered the field of black literature for the first
time, and the traditional areas have been
expanded.

Attract Flock

Also, a large part of the growth can be
attributed to the efforts of President Edgar
Shannon, a leading scholar on the writings of
Tennyson. He and the department have
attracted a flock of new professors to meet the
needs of expansion.

Another department that will soon undergo
great expansion is Sociology and Anthropology.
The beginning of this trend is evidenced by the
hiring of Theodore Caplow, one of the world's
leading scholars in the field.

Mr. Caplow, Professor of Sociology and
Anthropology and new chairman of the
department, comes here from Columbia
University. He received his master's degree and
doctorate from the University of Minnesota,
and he has taught at that school, in France, and
in the Netherlands, besides teaching at
Columbia. In 1968 and 1969 he served as
Visiting Professor at the Sorbonne.

Sociological Work

Mr. Caplow's specialty is the sociology of
work, which also happens to be the title of one
of his many books. This field deals with the
various occupations, why people choose the
occupation they do, and social and economic
mobility.

One area of Mr. Caplow's field that is now
becoming a subject of great controversy is the
division of white collar and blue collar work.
The so-called "hard hat" worker is now finding
himself the center of great political attention,
and Mr. Caplow has some very definite views on
this.

Unusual Reversal

"In the white and blue collar division," said
Mr. Caplow recently in a talk with The Cavalier
Daily, "an unusual reversal is now taking place.
The working class has traditionally taken a
place on the political left, while the business
class has been to the center and right. Now,
however, this is somewhat reversed."

The new chairman of the Sociology and
Anthropology department went on to note,
though, that the American working class has
never been particularly noted for its radicalism,
especially in comparison to workers in other
advanced countries like France and Italy.
"Thus," Mr. Caplow said, "what's happening
now is not so surprising, but what is unusual is
the reaction of the upper classes."