From the comments:

>The number of staff and non-tenure track faculty has ballooned dramatically since I arrived at Rice in 2004. I agree with you, that from what I've read elsewhere, it's a common phenomenon at well-resourced institutions.

What I've seen at a number of universities are opportunities to get hired on to things like full-time maintenance staff with better pay, job security, and work-life-balance compared to actual PhDs.

And maybe more likely to be a decades-long career at the same institution, compared to recognized scholars.

I couldn't help but notice this about ten years ago, and UH looks like it is on track too.