On Oct. 1, 2018, Yale University announced its endowment reached $29.4 billion, a level greater than the GDP of dozens of countries including Congo, Armenia, Iceland, Rwanda, and Jamaica. Despite Yale’s incredible resources, it still receives heavy subsidies from the federal government. In 2014-2015, the federal government granted Yale University more than a half billion dollars, representing 75.3% of Yale’s grant and contract income. That figure increased by almost $80 million by year 2017-2018.

Money is fungible and against the backdrop of federal government subsidies, Yale has expanded its administrative staff at rates far greater than peer institutions. According to Alumni for Excellence at Yale, Yale now has 81.8 administrators per 1,000 students, almost twice the rate of Harvard University. Of more than 1,600 colleges surveyed by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Yale comes fourth in overall bureaucracy. Between 1995 and 2016, as Yale received even more federal grants, Yale’s managerial ranks swelled by more than 77% while its maintenance staff grew only 10%.