> I had an O-Chem professor who explicitly set a curve and > gave incredibly difficult exams, such that only a few people > in the 100+ person class could get an A.

Isn't that how an 'A' grade is supposed to work? I'm not suggesting you curve it to deliberately fail people, but an 'A', 'B' and 'C' should have some meaning. If 90% of a class get's an A, the grading is meaningless and might as well just be pass/fail.