It was just two weeks after his picture ran in the Daily Sentinel for being named a National Merit Scholar semifinalist, a feat that flagged him as an academic up-and-comer in the East Texas community.
But UK BME staff still account for just 5.9% of academics – up from 4.8% in 2003.
The IFS does receive support from taxpayers through the Economic and Social Research Council, but so do academics up and down the country, who would be horrified at the idea that it made them beholden to politicians' demands.
The rules of the 2008 RAE, now published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England on its website (www.hefce.ac.uk), are being frantically picked over by academics up and down the country.
The concerns over process have added fuel to the desire of many academics to open up academic publishing.
It has helped an academic build up academic credit, which is required to get grants, and get jobs.
China also has a widely acknowledged problem with academic "borrowing," up to the point of plagiarism.
Despite a planned 32% tuition hike, the University of California says it received a record 134,000 undergraduate applications for the coming academic year, up 6% from last year.
They have a good academic standing, up and coming athletics and a large expected freshman class.
Other state governments are imposing similar cuts.Unsurprisingly, German academics are up in arms.
In an experiment in California, academics set up a jam tasting booth in a store.
