To the Editor:
Professor Claire Potter brings up important issues surrounding academic labor, especially the reliance on untenured, contingent faculty and gradate student instructors, now seen at essentially all institutions (“The Hard Truths of the Academic-Labor Crisis,” The Chronicle Review, November 17). But she glosses over what I consider to be the most important factors that led to the present dismal state of higher education.
First, what is the exorbitant cost of tuition paying for? Clearly not the salaries of those teaching and doing research. It goes instead to pay legions of administrators and support staff, who now greatly outnumber full-time faculty. These bureaucrats are often nomadic, have no loyalty to their institutions, and gain attention and prestige with expensive development projects like luxury student accommodations. They arrive at a new position, disrupt and break things, and then move on to a better job before they face any consequences.
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