Faculty Hiring Down, But Not For UC Berkeley Competitors (Contra Costa Times):

Slumped in a chair in his office, UC Berkeley law Dean Christopher Edley looks relaxed. But Boalt Hall, and the rest of the Berkeley campus, is a war zone.

Although the economy is flailing and the tattered state budget has dramatically limited the university's ability to hire new faculty, UC Berkeley's top-tier competitors don't appear to be slowing their campaigns to lure away the school's professors. Offers from top private schools are still hitting Berkeley departments struggling to maintain prestige.

"I have three (offers to Berkeley professors) that I'm worried about right now from Harvard," said Edley, who himself was lured from Harvard in 2004 to lead Boalt Hall. "And three more that are likely to develop from top-five schools in the next year. "It keeps the pressure on, but it's infinitely better than having a faculty that no one wants."