St. John's University in New York City is the largest Roman Catholic school in the U.S. (enrollment: 13,125). Academically, it has never ranked high among Catholic schools; in troubles, it outdoes them all. Last week many of its teachers were in open revolt against the administration, police guarded the gates of its Queens campus, and the university faced a strike by both professors and students when classes resume next week.
The blame for the crisis is not onesided. A tough, paternalistic administration has for years done little to improve faculty salaries, denied...