The next time your local liberal professor defends the lack of intellectual or political diversity in the academy with claims that conservatives are too stupid to be college professors, you might want to point them to this article in the Miami Herald.

When the Nigerian government e-mailed University of Miami law professor Enrique Fernandez-Barros for help, he said he felt flattered.

''They wanted me to review some infrastructure contracts based on my international reputation,'' said Fernandez-Barros, an expert on foreign law.

He said a purported Nigerian official promised in late 2003 to pay him for legal services if he would help the government and a well-connected Nigerian businessman recoup $1.68 million from a U.S. truck-leasing company. His incentive: $200,000 in fees for this and other work.

That's right, it's the good ol' Nigerian e-mail scam, and the good professor fell for it, hook, line and sinker.

Professor Fernandez-Barros has three doctoral degrees.

So much for the idea that a college degree makes you smart.