The article considers major risks of academic environment transformation, which include stereotyped images of the Russian academic environment. They are “graying” of teaching staff, which represents the risk of workforce deficiency; feminization of education as a risk of gender imbalance; a decrease in the level of Russian science and higher education as a risk of losing the competitive edge in the global academic market. On the basis of statistical and analytical data the research evaluates the influence of the above mentioned risks on the process of academic environment transformation. The author structures the concerns according to the reasons that cause them. They include the objective and subjective ones, such as the deficiency of transformation resources provision and the low teaching staff potential. The social community of university teachers appears both an active resource for transformation process and a major factor that prevents from its successful implementation. The author concludes that major risks, such as low transformation resource potential of university teachers' social community, often include “graying” of teaching staff, as well as feminization and loss of competitive edge in the global academic market.