The author uses character to examine a group of mid-level academics' accounts of work and career in a British research-intensive university. Highlighting how people draw on good character to justify their approach to work under the pressures of new performance demands, she argues that good character is a central feature of contemporary academic work, in a typically nostalgic form. Furthermore, it is widely used to secure professional legitimacy. She highlights the implications of her findings to managers of others' careers in academia and more widely.