I applaud a university for standing up for academics, but this author sounds slightly unhinged. Affirmative Action and other such policies have some serious downsides so I respect people who are willing to criticize such a racially touchy subject, however the authors animosity towards the subjects of AA, rather than just AA itself, seemed to leak into his writing.
No kidding. My school had D-I athletics and affirmative action but it hasn't slowed us down in terms of (externally granted) academic awards or excellence in engineering and other specialties.
The bigger problem I think is the belief that everyone has to go to college to 'get ahead' and the excesses of credentialism.
