Archive for January 15th, 2008

Conundrum: The English Department

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008

The English department at the local university has nine professors. Each has been with the department a different number of years, ranging from the new-hire (zero years), all the way up to the chair who has been with the department for fifteen years. Since the university only hires at the beginning of the school year, the number of years that each person has been with the department can be expressed as a whole number.

This morning, the nine professors divided themselves into three committees and each of these committees held a meeting which lasted all morning. In the afternoon, the nine professors divided themselves into three different committees and each of these committees held a meeting which lasted all afternoon. At no point today did anybody meet with anyone outside of these six committees.

1. Irene met with Adam and Dr. Marshall in the morning, and met with Deborah and Dr. Smith in the afternoon. Both meetings were held in Conference Room A.

2. Dr. Osborne met with Charles and Dr. Kaplan in the morning, and met with Gerald and Dr. Lewis in the afternoon. Both meetings were held in Conference Room B.

3. Dr. Johnson met with Frank and Dr. Rogers in the morning, and met with Elizabeth and Dr. Nelson in the afternoon. Both meetings were held in Conference Room C.

4. Each of the six committees has the exact same combined number of years that the three committee members have been with the department, though no two of the committees are identical.

5. Harold has been with the department longer than Barbara has.

6. After the Shakespeare scholar, who has been with the department exactly four times as many years as Irene has, was hired, nobody else was hired until five years later, when the Romantic poetry expert joined the department.

7. Dr. Kaplan was hired one year before Dr. Peterson and one year after Dr. Lewis. Nobody was hired the year before Dr. Lewis. Nobody mentioned anywhere above has left the department.

The department is currently hiring for a tenure-track position for next year. They offer a competitive salary and an impressive benefits package. To apply for a position, determine the full names of all nine professors, and how many years each has been with the department.

UPDATE: Puzzle solved by ArtVark. See comments for answer.