'But money is not all that is needed. One of the greatest comparative strengths of American universities lies in the nature of human relations.

Teachers take their job seriously. They engage with students rather than eagerly awaiting breaks and holidays to pursue their own projects.

Moreover, the research atmosphere of American universities is characterized by a great deal of informal cooperation.

People meet in laboratories and seminars, but also in common rooms and cafeterias. They are not obsessed with hierarchical status or surrounded by assistants.

Nor are they tied to narrow projects and the project groups formed around them.

Despite fierce competition for academic tenure, for space in journals and in other media, and for advancement in general, people talk to each other as colleagues.'