[shandor]

I've been wondering this exact same thing, with added bewilderment from the fact that after all this non-core work pushed onto the academic staff the administration is still the one function growing, and growing fast.

We used to joke at my alma mater that the administrators were just trying to fill up their building to get a new one. The joke turned more than a little sour when it actually happened. And no, the university hadn't seen anything resembling necessary growth for such an explosion in administrative staff. If anything the faculties had been under cost-cutting for some years when it happened.

I think the phrase "you can't make this shit up" was coined for these situations...

[musicale]

Stanford University actually built a separate campus for administrative staff. As you note it's hard to make this up:

"Stanford Redwood City is a center of excellence for critical administrative areas. Learn which departments are working at Stanford Redwood City."[1]

A university administration's primary objective, and successful accomplishment, appears to be administrative growth.

[1] https://redwoodcity.stanford.edu

[quickthrower2]

Parasites, not unlike this: https://www.wired.com/2014/10/absurd-creature-week-glyptapan...