Is meritocracy history?

Some trends in the historical field are hard to trace. Like rot in a grand Victorian home, the outward appearance still speaks of elegance and past glory, a superstructure of finely-worked timber on stone foundations, built to last. But there are disquieting trends within the historical profession that hint at infestations hollowing out the solid beams that hold up the grand structure. Every generation bemoans the inadequacy of the new generation. We certainly see a decline of knowledge and skill level in our wired student body" less attention span, less reading and less interaction with the world outside of 'blue light' and pixels. But I am speaking of something different. The decline that can no longer be ignored is the falling standards of the Ivy League schools, whose graduates dominate the ranks of our research universities.