Conditions in academic employment associated with increasingly tense political struggles for anthropology departments are discussed. Personnel policies for state-supported institutions are cited as areas of major controversy and the effect of student enrollments on the setting of staffing-level parameters is emphasized. Politics internal to academic departments of anthropology are discussed and various models of university power structures are described. It is suggested that anthropology departments, usually one of a university's smallest departments, face great difficulties in maintaining their academic independence. Recommendations for anthropology departments include: using temporary faculty appointments rather than tenure-track appointments; encouraging anthropology faculty to gain decision-making or influential posts not usually seen as department-linked; and emphasizing the interdepartmental links in the field of anthropology. It is suggested that steps should be taken to face the spector of unemployment threatening the field of anthropology. (Author/SF)