The Function of Institutional Inbreeding

Abstract

Faculty "inbreeding," though deplored in the university studied, is practiced there as a functional necessity for that university's participation in the national academic labor market, where it is handi-capped by location and inadequate finances. The consequence is a systematic discrimination against the inbred faculty member. This hypothesis is tested by propositions relating to working conditions of junior faculty with data comparing inbred and non-inbred on such variables as rank, load, and produc- tivity. The findings support the hypothesis, since significant differences between the inbred and the non-inbred are positively associated with the university's control.