Our opening article referenced the recent clown show before the House of Representatives on December 5. Called to testify about the lack of safety for Jewish students and tolerance for pro-Palestine marches, the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT failed the test. In their defense, it is not entirely their fault. These three presidents are the victims and beneficiaries of a corrupt and inept system that has gone on far too long. Without knowing it, they exposed the stupidity of the selection system for their position in all colleges. They are so immersed in a system that has been perpetuated for decades that they have no idea that they are not qualified to hold the position of president.
The Real Issue
Some credit should go to David Goldman of CNN, who stated the obvious clearly and concisely when he described Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania.
“Her gold-plated resume got her the job. But it didn’t serve her with the skills she needed to navigate one of the most serious crises on campus in recent memory.”
Knowingly or unknowingly, Mr. Goldman captured the problem with President Magill and all higher education nationwide. The demonstration of arrogance by these three presidents comes from a system where administrators know they cannot be fired. They originate from a system where typical measures of success are swept aside in favor of personal, ideological, and political agendas.
“The problem isn't that Johnny can't read. The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think. The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.”
We saw the arrogance displayed front and center in the defense of Claudine Gay. Rather than stopping to look at themselves, the Harvard board, faculty, and administration “circled the wagons” and came to her defense, explaining that what you saw and knew was irrelevant to them. Plagiarism is an issue for the hoi-poli, not the elites who have risen to the pinnacle of a corrupt system. From safe spaces to classrooms to DEI initiatives, it is time to clean out America’s universities and make wholesale changes to align them with America’s mainstream values. To compete on the world stage, we need more serious campuses focusing on education, not politics. Even Albert Einstein might be denied admission to an American university today because he was Jewish.
How We Got to Here
Academia is a closed system, much like an inappropriate, incestuous family relationship. It is a club where the members choose the new members and can “blackball” those they do not like. The practice of tenure is outdated and now leads to the injection of anti-American sentiment in our schools with no ability to correct those actions. People in all walks of life begin to misbehave when permitted to do as they please without fear of reprisal. We now see that people often sink to the lowest common denominator when there is no accountability for their actions.
Our colleges and universities are places where intelligence can easily be confused with skill and competence. It is a system where incompetence is tolerated in favor of collegiality and tranquility.
In his 1970 book, The Peter Principle, author Laurence J. Peter made some observations that apply to modern universities like no other place in our society. While his work and observations were known in academic circles, the publication of his book made his observations widely known and accepted. Peter observed that:
“…people in a hierarchy tend to rise to ‘a level of respective incompetence’: employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.”
Never was this more on display than in the House hearings in early December. Nothing illustrates the Peter Principle more than our colleges, where the incompetent flourish and rise even beyond their level of incompetence.
Faculty Ineptitude
In theory, our institutions of higher learning are where we send our youth to learn and prepare themselves for the workforce. These institutions should be invested in hiring and promoting the most skilled instructors. These faculty should be some of the best in their field.
But the record of our universities is the opposite. Suppose we assume management and accounting (to pick two) are skills needed inside and outside higher education. The faculty should contain some of the most knowledgeable and skilled people since they prepare people for the workforce beyond college. Sprinkled in this group would be people with theoretical and practical knowledge.
“I think college is basically for fun and to prove that you can do your chores, but they’re not for learning,”
However, the cost of higher education has spiraled out of control over the past few decades, placing a college degree beyond the reach of many. This signals that theoretical and not practical knowledge dominates our classrooms. An instructor who knows all the management theories but never manages anyone is worthless. The same is valid for cost control. How can an institution with no cost control teach students how to run a business that must have cost controls? With all the “experts” at their disposal, how have all our universities become bloated, overpriced bureaucracies?
We live in a nation that has prospered because of capitalism and opportunity. It is widely reported that many of our schools now teach the benefits of socialism and denigrate those who believe capitalism has a proven track record of success. The faculty in these schools are primarily people who have never worked outside of academia and have become little more than government workers. All the signs of neo-Marxism on our campuses are on display every day. Our campuses pit students against one another, promote racism and antisemitism, and denigrate anyone who believes in the traditional foundations of our nation.
Systemic, Pervasive, and Time for Change
In several excellent Wall Street Journal articles on January 4, 2024, ideas for taking back our universities were outlined and are worth noting. Of note is that public support for the DEI agenda of many of these universities is waning, considering the tolerance shown for growing antisemitism. The DEI agenda placed many inept administrators in charge and helped them try to destroy our culture.
But the strategy used to oust Claudine Gay is definable and has proven to be workable and successful. What the conservatives did was turn the left’s strategy back on them, and they could not stand the heat. In several articles in the Wall Street Journal, writers advocated for a multi-pronged approach to addressing the issues.
- First, they applied pressure through the media.
- Second, they applied financial pressure by threatening to withhold donations.
- Third, they applied political pressure through Congress and individual politicians.
This three-pronged approach seemed to work, even in the face of entrenched far-left media bias and the entrenched liberals in universities. Placed under real scrutiny, the left’s agenda could not stand the light of truth.
Change At the Top
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real issue is the closed loop of university ideology and the need for new ideas. Early in my career, I learned that you must check the job qualifications before promoting your best salesman to sales manager. Just because some can sell does not mean they can manage. This simple analogy is the issue with higher education. These organizations have “Peter Principled” out in multiple areas and at multiple levels. They mirror a government bureaucracy where incompetence is rewarded with promotions and authority.
Even if someone is your best physics professor or dean, they still need to be qualified for a higher position, particularly management. In the case of the three presidents who failed in their congressional testimony, they were smug and arrogant and thought they were unassailable. They openly demonstrated that they were unqualified for their positions and that DEI, rather than merit or demonstrated management skill, got them to where they were.
But the liberals at the top of the educational establishment will not go quietly. They are professional victims, demonstrators, and dissidents. Removing them from power will take a concerted, determined, and long-term focus. Remember, they will retreat to their “safe spaces” where many are in their closed loop of ideology.
Universities need to separate the running of the institution from academics. These are now big business and need to be treated as such. Presidents and other senior management must come from outside academia, and tenure must be abolished. Only then will we return to some sanity in our educational system.
“Cut off the head of the snake and the body will die.”
Resources Used in this Article
74 House Members Issue Letter Calling On MIT, Harvard, UPenn Boards To ‘Immediately Remove’ Presidents, by Claire O’Hare, State of the Union, stateoftheunion.org, December 12, 2023.
An Open Letter From MIT Jewish Alumni and Allies on Campus Antisemitism, by MIT Jewish Alumni and MIT Allies, the algemeiner, algemeiner.com, December 12, 2023.
Billboards Are Calling For Penn’s President To Be Fired Over Israel Remarks, by Claire O’Hare, State of the Union, stateoftheunion.org, December 9, 2023.
Biography of Claudine Gay: 30th President of Harvard University, Harvard University, Harvard.edu, June 28, 2023.
Boston Globe demands Harvard state clearly if president plagiarized: ‘It matters, by Kristine Parks, FOX News, FOXnews.com, December 18, 2023.
Claudine Gay, Wikipedia, Wikipedia.org, Last accessed December 21, 2023.
Claudine Gay and America’s Institutions: The former Harvard president’s defense reveals why elite educators have lost so much public respect, by Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal, wsj.com, January 4, 2024.
Claudine Gay Is Out as President. Where Does Harvard Go From Here?, by Melissa Korn, Wall Street Journal, wsj.com, January 3, 2024.
Conservatives Toppled Two College Presidents. They’re Not Done Yet: Emboldened by takedowns of Harvard and University of Pennsylvania leaders, activists plan to keep pushing against racial-diversity programs, by Aaron Zitner, The Wall Street Journal, wsj.com, January 4, 2024.
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Harvard Crisis Signals Broader Fight Over What a University Should Be: Claudine Gay was at the center of a campus debate over the direction of education, by Douglas Belkin, The Wall Street Journal, wsj.com, January 4, 2024.
Harvard president says ‘I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret’ after antisemitism testimony, by Olivia Alafriz, Politico, politico.com, December 8, 2023.
Harvard swarmed by truck billboards calling for president to resign in wake of UPenn fallout, by Emma Colton, FOX News, FOXnews.com, December 10, 2023.
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