Can a Staff Exodus Save Higher Ed? | City Journal
Though diversity-office spending has not yet reached these epic proportions, give it time. As the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal recently reported, DEI administrators in the University of North Carolina system take home more than $11 million in salary annually, a sum that could pay the in-state tuition of 1,600 UNC Chapel Hill undergrads. It is not clear what the DEI expenditures of all the nation s colleges add up to, but that dollar amount is no doubt in the hundreds of millions. It would be one thing if DEI offices turned our campuses into paradises of racial harmony, but something like the opposite is the case. The Manhattan Institute s January issue brief on the subject tells the tale: Students feel less welcome, not more welcome, at universities with larger DEI staffs.
Not all administrative positions are unnecessary. Someone really must pay the light bill each month and file the reaccreditation paperwork. But the administrative sector has wreaked havoc on tuition rates, faculty morale, and campus climates.
One of two futures awaits America s colleges. Down one path, top-heavy institutions fight among themselves over a demographically declining customer base. Down another, lean operations make do with less while recommitting to the foundational business of teaching and learning. I used to think that taking the better road would require mass layoffs, as universities shake off a generation s worth of superfluous staff. But maybe we ll get lucky. Maybe they ll all just quit.