Background On Sep 20, 2023 a group called “1 Million March 4 Children” organized protests in over a dozen cities across Canada. The goal of the protest was three-fold: 1) to challenge gender ideology in the elementary school curriculum; 2) to challenge the sexualization of the elementary school curriculum; and 3) to insist that teachers tell parents when their children attempt a social (gender) transition at school. The latter is a problem, because teachers and school boards have adopted a policy of keeping the transition secret from parents. All three issues stem from the problem of a hostile takeover of the K-12 school system by queer theory activists. The problem is well known in the US because of events like the infamous conflict at the
A related problem is that of the administrator/professor ratio, which at many research universities is now >1. The statement from U Waterloo went out under the President's name, but it was almost certainly instigated and produced (i.e. cut and pasted) by members of the administrative wing of the University.
What explains the recent increase in administrative FTEs in universities? One recent review of rising tuition in the face of declining expenditures on instruction suggested: "The steady growth in administrative and nonteaching staff positions is largely due to broader student support, often referred to as “wraparound services,” in areas such as mental health, entertainment, intramural sports, academic support, workforce preparedness and initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion." (USNWR June 2023).
As university administrative cadres have been increasingly captured in recent years by Social Justice Ideology (the "Identity Synthesis" of Yascha Mounk), they have taken on the mission of providing "safe" spaces for certain identities.
This essay lays the blame on a university president- and the president is indeed the symbolic head of the institution. University presidents are, however, still mostly drawn from the professoriat, although they rarely do any teaching or research while in office.
What is happening here? Have most academics-former teachers, scholars, and scientists- suddenly "gone woke" and decided, on their own, to issue pronouncements on every random Social Justice crusade that arises from the social media milieu? That may sometimes be the explanation, especially if the president is from a Humanities, Social Science, Management, or Law background, but often such actions originate from-indeed are dictated by- the apparatchiks of the Admin suites, who are in effect telling presidents what to do- and likely composing the press releases in their name.
There is a DEI Industrial Complex in anglophone countries. 80% of US companies and virtually all colleges and universities have "DEI initiatives", most of which employ a number of people. University expenditures on administrative "initiatives" (not all of which are DEI of course) now closely approximate total expenditures on teaching.
At a time when billions are being spent by universities on mostly performative DEI "programs," with essentially nothing to show for these efforts in terms of an increase in true diversity, university administrations have farmed out a massive chunk of the instruction duties to adjunct professors, the gig workers of academia who in many cases make little more than minimum wage.
We seem to have an accountability problem in university administration.
Thanks for having the courage to express yourself in an obviously hostile environment
Well done and let's hope something comes of it.
So many presidents, provosts and deans - those who hold real power in academia - are cowards and just fold to the woke. Bad, bad, bad.
Cheers to WATSAFS!
A related problem is that of the administrator/professor ratio, which at many research universities is now >1. The statement from U Waterloo went out under the President's name, but it was almost certainly instigated and produced (i.e. cut and pasted) by members of the administrative wing of the University.
What explains the recent increase in administrative FTEs in universities? One recent review of rising tuition in the face of declining expenditures on instruction suggested: "The steady growth in administrative and nonteaching staff positions is largely due to broader student support, often referred to as “wraparound services,” in areas such as mental health, entertainment, intramural sports, academic support, workforce preparedness and initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion." (USNWR June 2023).
As university administrative cadres have been increasingly captured in recent years by Social Justice Ideology (the "Identity Synthesis" of Yascha Mounk), they have taken on the mission of providing "safe" spaces for certain identities.
A great read to understand more on how this situation came to be in Canada is “The 1867 Project” https://aristotlefoundation.org/books/the-1867-project-why-canada-should-be-cherished-not-cancelled/
This essay lays the blame on a university president- and the president is indeed the symbolic head of the institution. University presidents are, however, still mostly drawn from the professoriat, although they rarely do any teaching or research while in office.
What is happening here? Have most academics-former teachers, scholars, and scientists- suddenly "gone woke" and decided, on their own, to issue pronouncements on every random Social Justice crusade that arises from the social media milieu? That may sometimes be the explanation, especially if the president is from a Humanities, Social Science, Management, or Law background, but often such actions originate from-indeed are dictated by- the apparatchiks of the Admin suites, who are in effect telling presidents what to do- and likely composing the press releases in their name.
There is a DEI Industrial Complex in anglophone countries. 80% of US companies and virtually all colleges and universities have "DEI initiatives", most of which employ a number of people. University expenditures on administrative "initiatives" (not all of which are DEI of course) now closely approximate total expenditures on teaching.
At a time when billions are being spent by universities on mostly performative DEI "programs," with essentially nothing to show for these efforts in terms of an increase in true diversity, university administrations have farmed out a massive chunk of the instruction duties to adjunct professors, the gig workers of academia who in many cases make little more than minimum wage.
We seem to have an accountability problem in university administration.
Excellent!!! Very well said.
Brave and needed. Thank you🏆