Editor -- Thank goodness someone is willing to take a stand against the University of California's mindless administrative hiring policy (Editorial, "UC's ill-advised raises," April 23).

Education and basic research are not commodities that can be priced, bought and sold like toys or telephone service or gasoline. The corporate business model is not appropriate, and anyone who tries to force it onto education is going to end up with the radically unbalanced situation we find ourselves in.

Educational institutions are not cost-effective in the short term, but in the long run they are the only buffer society has between enlightenment and either anarchy or tyranny.

In your front-page article, ("Big salary increases for UC top brass," April 22), everyone talks about wanting the "best people" for top-level UC administrative posts. The best people, however, are not business-school graduates or former corporate executives or consultants who have never spent time at a research bench or a classroom podium.

An institution that prides itself on being a cutting-edge leader in research and education should not have to stoop to being a poor imitation of corporate America. California deserves better.

KATHRYN A. KLAR
President

UC-AFT Local 1474

Berkeley