Interesting.
No Refuge: AAUP Releases Annual Report on Faculty Salaries
April 12, 2010
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/newsroom/2010PRS/salary.htm
Washington, D.C. — Despite the continuing importance of
quality higher education as a means of advancement for
many Americans, colleges and universities continue to
undervalue their most important resource: faculty members.
Data from this year’s national survey of faculty
compensation indicate that the overall average salary for
a full-time faculty member increased only 1.2 percent over
last year, the lowest year-to-year change recorded in the
fifty-year history of this survey. Moreover, when adjusted
for inflation, salaries for continuing faculty members
showed the first actual decrease since the hyperinflation
years of the late 1970s. These are two of the central
findings of No Refuge: The Annual Report on the Economic
Status of the Profession, 2009–10, released today by the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
The AAUP’s annual report has been an authoritative source
of data on faculty salaries and compensation for decades.
This year’s report discusses faculty salaries in the
context of turbulent financial times and suggests that
faculty salaries are concrete indicators of institutional
priorities. Mandatory furloughs, hiring and salary
freezes, and reductions in retirement-fund contributions
are all symptoms of a continuing disinvestment in the
faculty.
In addition to listing average salary by faculty rank and
gender at more than 1,200 colleges and universities, the
report provides an important perspective on the economic
challenges facing higher education. Here are some
highlights:
* About one third of responding institutions reported
that overall average salary levels decreased this year.
* Two-thirds of continuing faculty members are
employed at institutions where the average change in
salary was below the rate of inflation, meaning that the
earning power of most full-time faculty members is less
than it was one year ago.
* About fourteen percent of reporting institutions
have reduced contributions to faculty retirement programs,
and a few eliminated retirement contributions entirely.
These changes provide limited savings for the
institutions, but can create long-term problems for
affected faculty members.
* Although many colleges and universities are facing
reduced revenues, circumstances vary widely. Decisions on
how to deal with financial difficulties require
examination of the details of state appropriations; the
interplay of tuition prices, enrollment, and financial
aid; donations to the institution; and returns on
endowment fund investments. Faculty members are uniquely
positioned to devise solutions that will limit the damage
to higher education’s core mission: educating students and
advancing knowledge for the benefit of all.
The report is available on the AAUP’s Web site. Print
copies are available for purchase through the AAUP’s
online store and cost $89.00. AAUP members receive a
complimentary copy.
--
Dr Jon Cloke
Lecturer
Geography Department
Loughborough University
Loughborough LE11 3TU
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Tel: 00 44 07984 813681
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