Peter M. Magolda (–2019)

An important read for all of those inside of academia, and outside as well. I always say hi to the custodians at the school where I work, and have seen mostly the same faces for the 7 years I've been employed there, but I never stopped and researched the conditions of their employment. I've assumed they're college employees, but never really looked deeper. This book helped me realize that I'm near the top of a hierarchy, and that I'm responsible for understanding the conditions of the people lower than me in the hierarchy, and advocating for them as needed.

Appreciated in this book was the statement that administrators are always trying to constrain costs, except when it comes to hiring more administrators. The list of all of the associate, assistant, and vice provosts made me laugh out loud, and also sigh, because it is so true at my school. Our admin will go out of their way to discuss how expensive it is to hire full-time faculty, but then not hesitate to hire another associate vice provost who makes probably 200,000/year in salary. The issues of shared governance turning into being beholden to boards of trustees -- also terribly and unfortunately true.

The neoliberal model of academia is broken, and it doesn't only harm students. It harms custodians, groundskeepers, facilities and maintenance crews as well. These are the folks behind the scenes keeping everything running smoothly and cleanly while the rest of us go about our jobs, politely ignoring them.… (mehr)