This study utilizes a national study of university faculty, including a sizeable proportion ofAfro-American and female respondents, to examine university faculty attitudes toward affirmative action. It has been argued by some that self-interested motivations underlie attitudesabout affirmative action policies, while others have argued that "public spirit" (Kelman, 1987)and "other regarding" (Wilson and Banfield, 1964) motivations more properly serve toaccount for attitudes relating to social equity and societal welfare issues. University facultywere chosen as a particularly appropriate group to study; if any segment of society is likely tobe public spirited in this way it is likely to be the best educated among us. The central questionto be investigated is: how do individuals embedded in a meritocratic system such as theUniversity perceive affirmative action and the benefits and harms it holds for both white malesand protected category persons? How, in turn, does this set of attitudes about affirmativeaction affect the job satisfaction of white male professors? The results indicate that little "public spirit" is in evidence, suggesting that future implementation of this policy will hold onlycontinued conflict for Academe. Somewhat fortunate, however, is the finding that job satisfaction for white males is little related to their views on affirmative action.