In contrast to the wide spread applause that this piece seems to be getting, I disagree with a lot of what is said here. 1/N - ThreadSky

markhaselgrove.bsky.social • 35 days ago

In contrast to the wide spread applause that this piece seems to be getting, I disagree with a lot of what is said here.

1/N

Reposted from Masud Husain

Why academia is sleepwalking into self-destruction. My editorial @brain1878.bsky.social If you agree with the sentiments please repost. It's important for all our sakes to stop the madness
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...

Comments

traceydepellegrin.bsky.social•34 days ago

Thanks for this post. Besides an us v. them vibe, the editorial smacks of the worst kind of elitism. Ironically, part of the reason why the author can claim that these jobs are superfluous is that a good admin makes the magic happen without burdening faculty.

lewischuang.bsky.social•35 days ago

I think that this essay focuses on the unnecessary administrative structures that are created that do not improve academic quality.

It addresses the general ill of corporatizing institutions without considering their reasons for existing in the 1st place.

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•34 days ago

I don't think this essay talks in sufficient detail about the reasons why certain processes exist in the first place in order to conclude that they are "unnecessary"

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

I regularly work closely with administrative and professional staff and a lot of them are very good. Some are not, but that's the same with academics too. We are not special, we should check our privilege.

2/N

gregorydavis.bsky.social•35 days ago

We have amazing admin staff, tbh
Central bit cliquey & insulated from us plebs

Once were being made to pay participants w/ cheques for £4 (collectable 2 weeks later)..

I emailed VC asking him to 'reach down with his mighty hand from central admin heaven'

and Lo, ye layers of management parted.

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•34 days ago

Cambridge is the only place I have had to threaten with the small claims court for not paying me. The reason they gave me when they apologized and paid was that they were understaffed in payroll.

gregorydavis.bsky.social•34 days ago

wiringthebrain.bsky.social•35 days ago

Well said. As someone with experience in College officer roles, I have very little sympathy for academics whining about administrative staff. Most academics have no idea what it takes to keep a university running.

sampendu.bsky.social•35 days ago

I think you are missing an important point there. I work with a lot of administrative and professional staff who are very good, too. The reason the system still works at all is because of these people because the make it work despite the odds.

My university is currently looking to cut their jobs.

sampendu.bsky.social•35 days ago

Meanwhile we keep adding layers of bureaucracy on the top & spend money on outsourcing systems nobody needed in the first place that slow down everybody's work. Costs the organisation millions in dollars that could instead be spent on paying professional and admin staff the living wage they deserve.

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

My favourite example here was a whole-institution restructure project we had that everybody said was going to be terrible, and which indeed was terrible. It was the idea of an (academic) university leader. After they left, the uni outsourced a company to tell us why the project was terrible!!!

sampendu.bsky.social•35 days ago

Thanks - this was the moment I have finally discovered the true purpose of the laughing/crying emoji 🤣

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

About 8 years on we have a team of IT developers whose purpose is to create workarounds and apps to overcome the damage done, and additional workload created by, this project.

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

Totally agree.

We have financial, contractual, HR, purchasing etc systems in place in our institution that are utterly mind-boggling, and which I am entirely dependent on admin staff for.

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

Some systems are clunky, yep, but as an ECR who got into a financial mess sorting out my own travel and expenses, I far prefer having a system that means my postdoc doesn't have to use their own salary to purchase travel and hotel bills.

3/N

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

Are there bullshit jobs in academia? Yes, and they are not just restricted to admin.

Know a lecturer who you keep away from students because they're an asshole? Bullshit job.

Know an academic who reliably screws up admin tasks? Bullshit job.

Know a researcher with no outputs? Bullshit job.

4/N

aristofontes.bsky.social•34 days ago

I think Graeber would say that these are not bullshit jobs in his sense, but people doing a shit job at worthwhile jobs (at least for 1 and 3; for 2 it would depend on what kind of admin we're talking about).

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•34 days ago

Why do you isolate admin for special treatment?

aristofontes.bsky.social•34 days ago

Well, I suppose I'm thinking of my own situation here, as one does: some, but not all, of the administrative work that I do is bullshit. This also is Graeberian: you can have a basically real job with bullshit elements.

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

HT @diervilla.bsky.social for inspiring this rant.

N/N

diervilla.bsky.social•35 days ago

Thanks - I’m finding it fascinating how little pushback there has been on this piece.

aidanhorner.bsky.social•35 days ago

I think there are some kernels of truth in the original piece, but it's so "us vs them". I know loads of brilliant professional service staff who reduce admin load and know how to do it. We might have PhDs but we have very little training in organising structures that are efficient and effective

markhaselgrove.bsky.social•35 days ago

There are certainly improvements that can be made in many university systems, but the specifics and tone of this piece were all wrong for me.

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