Is @#$^&* a word?

I was delighted to see the article about my colleague Viviane Namaste's success in the contest to identify the most beautiful German words (CTR, March 3).

Unfortunately, the first words of the piece caused me to utter a most unattractive English word, because Dr. Namaste was mis-identified as a part-time faculty member at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute. She is, in fact, an assistant professor, that is, a full-time on the tenure track.

Lillian S. Robinson, Principal, Simone de Beauvoir Institute

The editor humbly apologizes.