in reference to academia, it’s important to distinguish between three tiers:
administration
professors
students
there are other factors involved too but in their closed world, these tiers are very distinct.
administration is invariably conservative as hell
they might say all the right words but when they do they are fake and transparent
they would gladly sell the University if it benefited them
professors and students are closer but still distinct
professors have their own norms to deal with, particularly if they are in professional organizations
they have their fads and trends they follow too.
and then students.
Grant writing is a big part of what professors and administration does.
it’s expensive to run a school
and then you have parents who like to sue.
so