The Peril of Growing Bureaucracy in Higher Education

The Decline of Academic Freedom

American universities, especially elite institutions, are in deep crisis. Students are silenced, professors live in fear, and administrators have become enforcers of ideology, stifling open inquiry and due process.

This crisis is not simply due to an ideological shift leftward. While faculty have become more activist, it is the unchecked growth of bureaucracy that has fueled the erosion of academic norms.

The Explosion of Non-Teaching Staff

In the past two decades, universities have experienced an explosion of non-teaching staff. These administrators now outnumber students at many elite institutions.

This bureaucratic bloat has accelerated with the rise of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs. DEI offices now have budgets in the tens of millions and staffs that rival or exceed those of traditional academic departments.

The Costs of Bureaucratic Expansion

This bureaucratic expansion comes at a steep price. Tuition has skyrocketed as students pay more to fund administrators who often have no connection to education.

Moreover, administrators tend to be more radical than faculty and lack a commitment to academic freedom. They impose codes that stifle speech and undermine the core principles of a liberal education.

The Case of DEI

The growth of DEI has been particularly harmful to the academic mission. These offices, dedicated to promoting certain ideological perspectives, have replaced open inquiry with ideological conformity.

The Corruption of Higher Education

The unchecked growth of bureaucracy has corrupted the core mission of higher education. Universities no longer prioritize the search for truth or the training of skilled professionals.

"They employ an army of educrats who either distract from that mission by providing therapeutic coddling to students or subvert truth-seeking by enforcing an ideological orthodoxy."

- Jay Greene, researcher

Consequences for Students and Society

The infantilization of students and the silencing of diverse perspectives weaken our future leaders and undermine the public square.

Bureaucratic bloat has created a system where administrators wield power at the expense of faculty, eroding the autonomy and intellectual freedom that are essential to a thriving academy.

Call to Action

It is time for a reckoning in higher education. We must curb the unchecked growth of bureaucracy, restore academic freedom, and refocus our universities on their core mission.

As Ilya Shapiro writes in his book Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites, "The future of our democracy depends on it."