Education policies

``How big-time athletics corrupt universities'' [Feb. 25], by Ary J. Lamme III, was an excellent piece. When will alumni and administrators recognize that standing for moral principles attracts to the campus those same attitudes? Honesty begets virtue, ethical behavior attracts morality, and principled actions denote a commitment to right motives. Let's hope that our college administrators and alumni will want to teach our young people by good example rather than corrupt models. Deanna J. Elsom Salem, Ore. I read with concern the article [Feb. 12] on the report issued by the Association of American Colleges (AAC) on weakened college degrees [``Report cites college teachers for weakened curricula and undergraduate degrees''].

It said that a major cause is that college professors have focused attention on research rather than on students. When tenure, promotion, and salary increases are based primarily upon one's research record, is it any wonder that research often comes before students? When administrative policy emphasizes research publications, college professors can either leave, disrupting their families and careers, or abide by the policy. It is wrong to blame college professors as a group when we have little say on policy goals and formation. Some blame must be borne by those who establish the policy. Joel C. Plath, assistant professor Pullman, Wash.

The Feb. 12 article [``Journey to Manchuria, China's frigid `melting pot' ''] says the Rev. Eric Liddell passed his missionary years at Harbin. D. P. Thomson's biography states that he was stationed in Tientsin, now Tianjin: ``Tientsin . . . in which Eric Liddell was to spend the larger part of his life . . . .'' The error may have arisen because his father, the Rev. James D. Liddell, was also a missionary and was stationed in Mongolia. Readers may be interested to know that Eric Liddell's book, ``The Disciplines of the Christian Life,'' will be published in June by the Abingdon Press of Nashville. Herbert S. Long, professor Cleveland

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