New York University (NYU), one of the leading universities in the world, resides in New York City (NYC), a city that never sleeps. In recent years, NYU has ranked first among the universities which American high school students want most to enter. Before this, it was just an ordinary university, attracting little attention from students, even though it is situated in the center of NYC. How did NYU become a top university?
NYU has built its outstanding reputation by recruiting prominent professors renowned for top-draw academic research. It continues to attract top-ranking professors and, by doing so, increases its competitive power. Frederick Choi, a chairperson and professor in the Department of Accounting, agrees that the competitive power of NYU is increased by its ability to attract the very best professors. This is essential because the reputation of a university can be no greater than the quality of its faculty. "A university”, Choi said, “is nothing more than a collection of scholars, both faculty and students. This means that the university does not bring acclaim to its faculty; rather it is the faculty that brings prestige to the university".
NYU has made every effort to recruit distinguished professors. To ensure success for this project, the university has established strict standards. Frederick Choi said that, in recruiting professors, NYU is very careful to screen candidates who can demonstrate high standards of published research in the top academic journals in the country along with a proven effectiveness in the classroom. In other words, they have to be the best in their field and excellent in both research and teaching.                  
To attract the best professors, NYU offers such benefits as high salaries, subsidized housing, a small teaching load and financial support for research. Ronald Dworkin, who taught previously at Yale University and is now professor of philosophy and law at NYU, chose to transfer to NYU because the resources in philosophy were excellent and because the school provided financial support for research. "It was a great help in my research," he said. A lot of money is needed in order to hire new distinguished professors, however. In the case of new rookies, the NYU salary starts at $170,000. Some earn more than senior professors. The cost of hiring professors is usually made up from the university budget and through fundraising. Each NYU school does its own fundraising. In Steinhardt School, for example, they raise money, either from individuals or foundations, for current needs and long-term goals. Their yearly fundraising goals range from $1-25 million depending on size and staff.
In the course of recruiting prominent professors, NYU has accomplished something outstanding. It has become one of the best universities and has attracted many prospective students. Stephen Schiffer, a chairperson and professor of philosophy said: "A university is judged by the strength of its departments. Mostly, the departments are judged by the research of the professors. So, the more well-known and respected the professors are, the higher the departments’ ratings will be." In the case of the Department of Philosophy, it gained prestige because of its well-known professors. This is why many students want to enter NYU.
NYU's strategy for recruiting top professors has been successful. Thanks to the new professors, NYU has raised its reputation and drawn a lot of excellent students. Most students are satisfied with NYU's strategy because they can take high-quality classes from eminent professors. Lee Young-hwan, a NYU student majoring in economics and mathematics said, "several prominent professors use textbooks written by themselves. They already know what the most important things are and how to teach the lessons efficiently. Therefore, such classes make it possible for the students to follow things without too much difficulty."
NYU still endeavors to recruit the foremost professors. "We are trying all the time. Just recently, we tried to bring two more distinguished professors to NYU," said Stephen Schiffer. Trying to improve on an already excellent record; this is what may make NYU successful in its bid to become a prestigious university.

Lee Soo-jin  innocent117@hanmail.net

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