The Rise of Non-Teaching Staff: How It's Shaping Universities

Universities are facing a crisis. Money is pouring into bureaucracy, not education. This isn't just about liberal faculties; it's about administrators who are more radical and less connected to teaching. The number of non-teaching staff has exploded, and with it, tuition fees. Students aren't getting more for their money. They're just funding a growing army of bureaucrats who stifle free speech and push a specific ideology. This isn't just a budget issue. It's about the core mission of universities being lost. In the past two decades, the growth of these bureaucracies has outpaced that of faculties and students. At elite schools like Harvard and Yale, there are now more administrators than students. This shift isn't just about numbers. It's about power. Administrators, especially those in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) roles, have a lot of influence. They shape policies and decisions, often bypassing other executives. This growth hasn't made campuses happier or more diverse. Student satisfaction doesn't correlate with the number of administrators. Instead, it's distracting from the core mission of universities. Students are being coddled, not prepared for real-world challenges. DEI offices enforce narrow perspectives, taking power away from faculty. The increase in non-teaching staff is also reflected in budgets. At leading research universities, spending on administration is rising faster than spending on instruction and research. For example, at Harvard, administrative payroll nearly doubled in the first two decades of this century. This growth accounts for almost the entire increase in the annual cost of attending Harvard. The trend of higher-ed institutions being run by bureaucrats rather than academics intensified with the appointment of Claudine Gay as Harvard's president. Her thin scholarly record and focus on progressive orthodoxy reflect the anti-intellectual movement that values identity and activism over merit and education. The number of DEI administrators and enforcers has grown to expensive and illogical levels. At the University of Michigan, the number of people in charge of DEI programs doubled from 2010 to 2023, costing over $30 million annually. This growth hasn't benefited students. It's just driving up tuition without improving the campus climate or diversity.