Editor -- Your article ("Debate on growth of research at CSU campuses," Feb. 23) misses the tight integration of teaching and research at universities that encourage excellence in both areas. To be a good teacher, one must be intellectually active. In many fields, the best way to be intellectually active is to have an active research program.

Furthermore, new information and techniques arise so rapidly that faculty would not be able to bring up-to-date material to students in a few years if they did not keep up with new developments in their fields. Research-active faculty are the most likely to keep up with new developments.

Students are unlikely to learn well simply by sitting in classrooms listening to lectures. Students need hands-on experience, in the form of projects. External research grants obtained by faculty at San Francisco State University bring extraordinary opportunities for our students to participate in exciting research projects.

Dean SHELDON AXLER

College of Science & Engineering

San Francisco State University