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March 6, 2014

Group analysis of regional faculty salaries expanded

A peer group analysis of regional faculty salaries has been expanded to include instructors and lecturers on the University’s Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown campuses, including salary comparisons adjusted for geographic cost-of-living differences among Carnegie category IIB peer schools.

In 2012-13, Pitt’s 48 lecturers and instructors on the Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown campuses had a combined average salary of $47,700, placing them at the bottom of the fifth decile among a peer group of 160 IIB institutions in the three American Association of University Professors (AAUP) regions that border Pennsylvania.

At the top of the 16 institutions in the fifth decile was Moravian College, with four instructors who averaged $49,100. Topping the list of 160 regional peers was Ramapo College New Jersey, where three instructors averaged $77,800 in FY13. Lowest among the 160 was Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana, where three instructors averaged $17,600.

Some of the peer schools reported salaries for instructors and lecturers; others had only instructor data or only lecturer data.

Data analyst Amanda Brodish of the Office of the Provost, who presented salary data on librarians and professor-rank faculty to the University Senate budget policies committee in October, delivered the expanded 2012-13 salary comparison information at BPC’s Feb. 21 meeting.

The FY13 data on combined lecturer and instructor salaries were presented as an appendix to the most recent regional faculty salary report; that data will be included as part of future peer faculty salary reports, Brodish said.

The average pay for Pitt regional instructors and lecturers aligned with averages for Pitt regional faculty in the professor ranks: full and associate professors were in the fifth decile; assistant professors were in the sixth decile in the FY 13 report. (See Oct. 24, 2013, University Times.)

David DeJong, vice provost for academic planning and resources management, said the University’s longstanding goal has been to have faculty salaries average near the midpoint of peer ranks.

He said that Provost Patricia E. Beeson is pursuing an initiative to improve instructor and lecturer salaries on all campuses. “Those efforts are real and they are not reflected in this report because this report lags,” he said, assuring the committee that Pitt’s average will rise as the data catch up.

Adjusted regional faculty salaries

When cost-of-living differences were accounted for, 2013 Pitt regional faculty salaries rose in comparison with a representative group of regional peers.

Brodish presented a new comparison of regional faculty salaries in the professor ranks against a representative group of 57 IIB peer institutions, following earlier concerns that the 21-school peer groups used in the October comparison were too small.

The average salary for full professors on the Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown campuses ranked No. 25 of the 58 schools; adjusted for cost of living, the average rose to No. 16. Adjusted for cost of living, salaries for Pitt professors on the three regional campuses were 8 percent above the median, she said.

For associate professors, average salary ranked No. 24; adjusted for cost of living, the average rose to No. 14. Adjusted for cost of living, salaries for Pitt associate professors on the three regional campuses were 12 percent above the median, she said.

For assistant professors, average salary ranked No. 33; adjusted for cost of living, the average rose to No. 24. Adjusted for cost of living, salaries for Pitt assistant professors on the three regional campuses were 6 percent higher than the median, she said.

Fewer institutions reported instructor and lecturer data, rendering a smaller peer group of 44 for those faculty ranks, Brodish said.

The average salary for Pitt’s instructors and lecturers on the three regional campuses ranked No. 21 out of 44 institutions; adjusted for cost of living, the average rose to No. 12.  Compared to the median at the peer institutions, Pitt faculty salaries, adjusted for cost of living, were 11.5 percent higher, she said.

The report can be viewed at www.utimes.pitt.edu/documents/SBPCSalaryAnalysesFeb14.pdf.

In other business:

  • DeJong said the attribution study for fiscal year 2012 is slated for review at the University planning and budgeting committee’s (UPBC) March 11 meeting. UPBC must approve the report, which details revenues and expenses attributable to each of the University’s academic units and other responsibility centers, before BPC can review it.
  • Several faculty members suggested that a review of how the University’s planning and budgeting system (PBS) is functioning is overdue. Shared governance provisions call for BPC to periodically review whether PBS procedures are being followed.

“It’s been a while since we’ve looked at the PBS document,” said faculty member Beverly Gaddy, BPC vice chair, noting that many faculty are unfamiliar with the contents of the document.

BPC member Phil Wion, emeritus faculty member, said prior reviews were done by an ad hoc committee at BPC’s behest. The last review was about a decade ago (see April 29, 2004, University Times). With a new chancellor set to take the helm in August, Wion suggested BPC might take steps to initiate such a review in fall.

“The last time, the review resulted in some modifications of the system, to improve it,” he said.

DeJong suggested it might be advisable to wait another year to undertake a review to allow the incoming chancellor time to gain some context for understanding how the system currently is working.

BPC chair John J. Baker said the committee could discuss the issue at an upcoming meeting and asked Wion to find documents from BPC’s prior reviews to provide a model for instituting a new review.

• In closed session, BPC discussed University salary policy and a proposed report on part-time faculty salaries.

—Kimberly K. Barlow

salary chart

Click on chart for full report.