Academic

Life is good at the young University of Saint Chinian in sunlit south-west France. All involved enjoy a happy time. The professors are full-time but certainly not whole-time! Some teaching is required of them but research is entirely optional. The students too are a joyful group. For a moderate amount of study, which does not greatly encroach upon their leisure time, they are assured of a fairly decent degree and a job - possibly even a pensionable one. They have plenty of free time to engage in the serious business of hanging around, drinking coffee, playing pinball and fornicating. However, this blessed state of affairs is under threat. The authorities in Paris have imposed a visit from an external committee of international experts to compile a detailed report on the academic quality of the university. The cold wind of managerial intimidation, so common in other areas of contemporary life, is about to blow through the hallowed halls academia. The serpent is insinuating itself into paradise. A witty and engaging university satire in the style of David Lodge and Malcolm Bradbury. Patrick Masterson, former Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, is the author of many scholarly works, former President of University College Dublin and of the European University Institute in Florence. He has also been Chairman or member of several international Quality Appraisal Committees. He is therefore eminently qualified to recount the unfolding drama from the viewpoints of both gamekeeper and poacher. (Amazon).