Good old days

The unhappiness we report at the University of Nottingham is not universal. Some long-serving academic staff in less than top-rated departments are known to the university managers as "the smilers". Because their contracts date back to before 1988, they still have effective tenure, and when summoned to be told of their underperformance, smile through the meeting and then leave. Let us hope that this exuberance does not lead to any misbehaviour. They can still be shown the door if convicted of gross moral turpitude.