NEWS FROM THE HIGHLY MORAL WORLD OF HIGHER EDUCATION: This Professor Made Up a Job Offer From Another University. Now He Faces a Criminal Charge. “In January 2015, Brian R. McNaughton, an associate professor at Colorado State University, sent his administration an offer letter he’d received from another university. To entice McNaughton to stay, Colorado State raised his base pay by $5,000, a university spokeswoman said. Using offer letters from other institutions as leverage in salary negotiations is common practice at colleges and universities. There was just one problem with McNaughton’s case: The offer letter was fake.”

Sadly, the last time somebody tried to recruit me for their fancy endowed chair, the salary was less than I was already making.