1 McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal
The Yiddish word shadchin is best translated as marriage broker. In the old days, in the small communities or shtetls where many Eastern European families lived, such an individual emerged, probably self-appointed, to help arrange marriages. One assumes that both parties were eager to get married, but either were unaware of the other's intentions or simply required the help of a third party to sort out some of the obstacles that lay in the path of eternal bliss.
Academia today bears some semblance to the shtetl of the past. The communities of the Ivory Tower consist, more or less, of like-minded individuals with similar backgrounds, goals, and aspirations.