Does Brown University employ 1 administrator for every 2 students? Elon Musk reacts to a video on institute's deficit in the wake of the shooting

In wake of the shooting at Brown University last week, a student from the institution - named Alex Shieh - criticized the system for raising its tuition fees. 

Brown employs one “administrator” for every two students! https://t.co/aTFiYiv93M

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2025

Shieh's video has since been going viral on X. In it, he spoke about an Ivy League degree being the best bet of a smart kid from a poor family to make it into the "upper income brackets".

Then calling the dream a so-called luxury good in this age and time, Shieh added:

"At this very moment, the American people are tightening their belts, and Brown is raising tuition beyond $90k a year. And even while charging students the price of a luxury car, Brown is on track to run a $46 million deficit this year. Where is all this money going?"

Then going on to explain story the behind this deficit, Shieh continued:

"It's going into an empire of administrative bloat and bureaucracy. Brown employs 3,805 full-time non-instructional staff for just 7,229 undergrads - that's one administrator for every two students... And when budget cuts are made, these expenses stay, while the student experience deteriorates." 

The video clip was later retweeted by Elon Musk, who also appeared shocked at the fact that the university appointed 1 administrator for every two students.

The suspect of Brown University shooting was found dead in New Hampshire

Elsewhere, Brown University has been making headlines for the open fire that took place at the campus last week, amid ongoing final exams. 

The manhunt for the shooter from the incident, which was ongoing for six days, finally concluded on Friday, when authorities identified Claudio Neves Valente as the shooter. Valente, who is a 48-year-old Portuguese national, was identified by a tip in a Reddit post.

However, by the time the law enforcement reached Valente, he was found dead at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. 

Per The Guardian, the cause of his death was from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Before taking his own life, Claudio had also murdered an MIT professor - Nuno FG Loureiro, who taught physics at the institution.

The news of Valente's death was announced by attorney general Peter Neronha, who revealed that the 48-year-old's body had two firearms nearby, as well as a car "that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence" parked near the storage facility.

Neronha added that Claudio had been evading laws enforcement by changing his car's license plates on the run, saying:

"This guy was changing plates was one of the reasons. He knew what he was doing... we got a Maine plate and we’ve got a Florida plate on the same car."

It was later revealed that Valente had enrolled into Brown University decades ago - in the fall of 2000, to study physics to pursue a PhD degree.

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