The New Feudalism

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | July 22, 2026 | Gary Frankel

[karpov]

In 2009, an anonymous university support staff member wrote to C.K. Gunsalus—a prominent academic who specializes in the study of higher education administration—looking for advice and, frankly, a little bit of kindness. The staffer claimed that many of the faculty members at their institution, including a number heavily involved in campus activism, refused to treat them with any respect. Their collective attitude towards non-academics, even those who worked for the university, was akin to that reserved for “a servant or a child.”

Gunsalus’ answer, which Inside Higher Ed published as an advice column, amounted to little more than word salad. But the gist of her response was that the employee should simply grin and bear it. After all, those rude academics were just trying to signal their authority, and who is to say that the anonymous employee is as good at their job as they think they are? Sometimes, professors simply need situations explained to them in a more scholarly manner.

I see no evidence to indicate that Gunsalus thought she was doing anything other than helping. And to be fair, this was reasonable advice for navigating a profession where people in positions of authority are notoriously prickly, political, and prone to anxiety regarding their reputation or social status. But the fact that this was a question that even needed to be asked underscores something darker about the academy—for all many professors talk about dismantling oppressive structures or re-litigating past evils, they are often utterly unaware of how they treat people.

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TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: academia; college

[wintertime]

They are often unaware of how they treat students.