Breaking Ranks: How The Rankings Industry Rules... Apr 2026

In his book , former Reed College President Colin Diver provides an insider’s critique of the "rankocracy" that dominates American universities. Drawing on his experience as a law dean at the University of Pennsylvania and president at Reed, Diver argues that the obsession with rankings—most notably those from U.S. News & World Report —has fundamentally distorted the values of higher education. The Perils of the "Best College" Illusion

Diver contends that rankings treat education as a unidimensional consumer good, reducing the complex life experience of college to a single, often arbitrary number. This "best-college" illusion creates several systemic issues: Breaking Ranks: How the Rankings Industry Rules...