The Perks and Perils of Recruiting Academic Superstars

Imagine having to jump on 10 planes to get to six cities in five days, fulfilling commitments that include — among other things — giving an interview to ABC's 20/20, and consulting with HBO producers on an upcoming program about actor Charles Dutton.
For DePaul University professor Michael Eric Dyson, it's all in a week's work. Not bad for a teenage father who didn't start college until he was 21. Since then, 41-year-old Dyson has finished his doctoral degree, written five books and become one of the most sought after public intellectuals in the country.
Formerly a communications professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Dyson decided to accept an offer earlier this year to become the Ida B. Wells Barnett University Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. The move was considered a major coup for DePaul.
"At a lot of institutions, a high-profile intellectual would be a source of consternation and controversy," Dyson says in an interview from the road. "But DePaul saw the bigger picture. They understood that I was intellectually provocative and I would raise their profile."
Universities around the country are looking to Dyson and other Black academic superstars these days to serve as ambassadors for their institutions. The comings and goings of these public intellectuals provide grist for the gossip mill as colleagues constantly speculate about how much money universities pay to recruit them and grouse about the little work they do compared to other scholars. But this speculation shows no signs of abating as universities embark on a shopping spree for Black academic stars to increase their national reputations.
Administrators say, the reason senior Black faculty members have become hot commodities in the academic marketplace is because universities realize that they must do more to try to diversify their faculty ranks as more of their students are Black, Latino or Asian.
Vanderbilt University also was interested in Dyson's services. But Dyson says DePaul made him a very generous offer, letting him teach two classes a year so he has the flexibility to lecture and write. Still, Dyson's move caused a lot of raised eyebrows.
"It's player-hating," he says, adding that it is business as usual for universities to raid each other's faculties. "Nobody ever complains about the White scientists, law professors and economists who are getting paid enormous sums of money."
DePaul officials say they hired Dyson because they hope he will bring the university more national attention.
"We're not looking for him to teach a load similar to our other professors," says Dr. Richard Meister, vice president for academic affairs at DePaul. "We're looking for the influence and impact he can bring us in terms of national visibility."
Meister says the university first approached Dyson after he gave a speech at the university last year. Dyson was finishing up a visiting professorship at Columbia University and wasn't looking forward to returning to Chapel Hill. Meister says the university was interested because Dyson's work cuts across many disciplines including philosophy and religion.
"This is not an ordinary university professorship position. [Dyson] doesn't fit into any category. [He] bridges theory and practice, he can talk about hip-hop and Jacques Derrida in the same breath," Meister says.
But critics warn that universities are creating a two-tier system for Black faculty members — one for "stars" and the other for the rest of Black  faculty members.
"Universities are playing musical chairs," says Dr. Walter Allen, professor of sociology at the University of California-Los Angeles.  "They're recycling academic superstars and not doing anything to address the problem of the small number of faculty of color in the academy."
Nevertheless, administrators say senior Black faculty members in demand can benefit by moving to a more prestigious university with more perks, including bigger offices, more graduate assistants, more equipment, reduced teaching loads and more time to conduct scholarship.
In return, universities get publicity about such scholars and their work. That can make the universities look more attractive to other faculty of color who may not have considered teaching there before.