I would look for a program where there are several faculty members who are doing research in related areas, as opposed to seeking out a particular person. People change jobs and move to other institutions. I would also look for a university where administrators are concerned with succession planning. These universities are concerned with building programs. They usually plan for faculty job changes by having other people in mind who would be good replacements and/or money available to hire replacements. Information about succession planning is public information, but usually not known without questions. Deans of programs are good starting points for the inquiry process. Department chairs and faculty also have some answers to these questions, but might also be uninformed depending on the culture at the university. If these individuals are not forthcoming with information, I would be cautious about submitting an application as this is an indication of business management practi! ce! s that also directly impact the student experience. I have several friends and acquaintances who are ABD, some of them in 2 programs at different universities, because people changed jobs and moved to other parts of the country and/or other countries. Others retired from their jobs and stopped working with students midstream in the completion of the degree programs. Depending on life circumstances, some of us are able to follow faculty who move on to other jobs. For others of us, this isn't a consideration for various reasons related to having families and other life commitments that are equally as important as getting a Ph.D. Gail --------------------------------------- Gail D. Taylor, M.Ed. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Human Resource Education Ph.D. Student Library & Information Science Teaching Assistant "Technology enables man to gain control over everything except technology." -- Unknown