Wanna cut the cost of college? Fire half the "administrators"--starting with...

One of the dirtiest secrets of universities is the outrageous amount of overstaffing in what's slyly called "administration."  Administrators rarely do much of value, and some are total wastes.  And too many earn princely salaries--well up in six figures--to do whatever it is they claim to do.

An economics professor at a branch of the University of Michigan recently calculated that the entire UM has nearly 100 "diversity administrators," more than 25 of whom are paid over $100,000 a year.  With health insurance, retirement and other benefits they cost the University of Michigan about $11 million a year.  Adding in costs like travel to innumerable (but absolutely vital) conferences, the total cost rises to perhaps $14 million per year.

At some time in the past, universities didn't have a single "diversity administrator."  And if the number went to zero again overnight, there would not be a significant negative change in the student body or faculty.
While we're considering zeroing out the diversity bureaucracy, why not eliminate a quarter or more of other administrators at UM?  The Provost’s Office, for example, includes, in addition to the provost, 39 “senior staff” and 26 “additional staff.” Not only does the U of M have its own secretary of state (“vice-provost for Global Engagement”) but also a deputy secretary of state (an “associate vice-provost”) as well. Couldn’t the provost limp along with only 40 staffers under him instead of 65?

The College of Literature, Science and the Arts has 14 administrative offices within it (!!), not including administrators in each of the academic departments themselves. 

I suspect it would be easy to design a U of M with at least 500 fewer administrators, saving well over $50 million per year.  Administrators have taken control of universities and have no incentive to cut costs, to reduce the size of their empires or their power.