I was the one who brought in schools, being stuck on your dictionary metaphor.
See, Johnson did the first major English dictionary in the 18th century, and famously did it more or less himself. Little funding. He then made reputation and money from it, later on.

So is this a model of the isolated, underfunded academic, especially in the humanities?

The OED is different. Setting aside the madman (fun book!), the idea of a more open enterprise points to another kind of academic.

Off topic, I know. A rhizomatic moment.