Indeed, well-respected senior faculty, ifconfronted with young scholars who are offeredbetter contracts, or with university-widefinancial constraints, could decide to leave forbetter offers at other institutions.

Nevertheless, even some of the world's mostprestigious universities are moving toward a starsystem.

After years of relying on its overwhelminginternational reputation, Oxford University beganjust recently to modify its salary scales forprofessors. Years ago, the scale was published inNewspapers. and professors salaries could bededuced just by knowing their ages. Today, thescales are no longer published, and administratorshave more leeway in salary offers to keep orattract stars.

In baseball, a team routinely scouts anopposing team's free agents. And in academia,elite research universities scout otherinstitutions for their next ace.

In the major leagues, it's the richest teamsthat have the ability to raid teams from smallermedia markets. And as some top universities seetheir financial woes worsen, they too may besubject to raids.

Yale, for instance, faces severe departmentalcutbacks which could threaten up to 114 facultyposition over the next 10 years, And theUniversity of California system has had a salaryincrease freeze for two years.

Knowles says. however, that bad financialconditions--and aspect of "movability"--will notaffect Harvard's attitude towards recruitment.

"We are not predatory," Knowles says. "We willsimply, as always, try to recruit the very bestfaculty, wherever they are."

But he adds; "Recruitment may be somewhateasier at some institutions."

Harvard is not immune to the predatorytendencies of other universities--each year someprofessors are lured from Cambridge to teachingopportunities elsewhere. But the loss of tenuredfaculty from Harvard is the lowest in the nation,Knowles says.

The Government Department's Keohane says thereis an alternative to engaging in high-pricedbidding wars over established senior scholars; thepromotion of junior faculty.

In the Government Department. the last threetenure appointments have been internal promotions,and seven new assistant professors will join thedepartment next fall. Keohane says that internalpromotions solve the problem of moving and make iteasier for professors to accept positions atHarvard.

"It's not that people don't want to come or tostay at Harvard, but they just can't work it out,"says Keohane. "The only people it makes sense toappoint from outside are the six-star professors."

But building a strong farm team, like thegovernment junior faculty, is long-term planning.

Just as free agents are unlikely to beeliminated from baseball. courting of starprofessors is unlikely to end anytime soon.Scholars may not be commanding multi-milliondollar salaries yet, but universities willcontinue to try to lure the home-run hitters ofthe profession to their teams