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May 3, 2012

AAUP report: Most Pittsburgh faculty exceed national average pay

According to an annual survey by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), average salaries for faculty members on the Pittsburgh campus, except for instructors, were higher than the nationwide average for public doctoral institutions.

The report, “A Very Slow Recovery: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2011–12,” found that full professors here averaged $134,800  (average of $120,955 nationwide); associate professors averaged $90,000 (average $82,777 nationwide); assistant professors averaged $75,000 (average $71,465 nationwide), and instructors averaged $45,300 (average $47,207 nationwide).

Combined, faculty of all ranks on the Pittsburgh campus averaged $91,400, higher than the national average of $88,393 at public doctoral institutions.

By gender, male professors on the Pittsburgh campus averaged $138,200 while females at that rank averaged $124,200; male associate professors averaged $91,600 while females at that rank averaged $86,900; male assistant professors averaged $80,000 and females averaged $70,700; male and female instructors alike averaged $45,300.

Faculty member John J. Baker, chair of the University Senate budget policies committee, noted that Pitt’s administration uses Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions as a peer group in benchmarking salaries, not all the public doctoral institutions in the AAUP survey.

“AAU universities are high-research, high-profile universities and as such offer higher salaries than most public doctoral institutions,” Baker said.

This year’s AAU peer group analysis has yet to be released, but Baker said, “Last year Pitt’s salary rankings among the public AAU universities were 15th of 35 for professors, 13th of 35 for associate professors, 28th of 35 for assistant professors, 17th of 21 for instructors and 25th of 35 for all ranks. That is not way ahead of its peers, as a comparison to all public doctoral institutions implies.” (See Oct. 13 University Times.)

Baker noted that Pitt includes medical school basic science faculty in its AAUP salary averages while most other AAU schools do not. “Pitt’s medical school basic science faculty have much higher salaries than most other Pitt faculty, so their inclusion in the AAUP salary data greatly increases Pitt’s average AAUP salaries, especially for full professors,” he said.

“The fact that Pitt’s average all-ranks faculty salary is only $3,007 higher than the average all-ranks faculty salary for all public doctoral institutions is very revealing, in light of the difference being $13,845 for professors, $7,223 for associate professors and $3,535 for assistant professors, all much higher than the $3,007 difference for all faculty ranks. These numbers can only be explained by Pitt having many more low-ranking, low-paid faculty than the average public doctoral institution.”

Average pay at Pitt’s regionals

Faculty in most ranks at Pitt’s three Carnegie category IIB (baccalaureate) campuses — Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown — earned salaries lower than the national average for similar schools.

The AAUP survey showed professors at public IIB schools averaged $84,524; associate professors averaged $69,021; assistants, $57,348, and instructors, $46,682.

For all ranks combined, the average salary was $65,240.

Pitt-Bradford

At Pitt-Bradford, professors averaged $81,700; associate professors averaged $66,400; assistant professors averaged $56,500, and instructors averaged $50,800. The overall faculty salary average for all ranks was $62,700.

By gender, male associate professors at UPB averaged $67,200, while females at that rank averaged $63,700; male assistant professors averaged $56,700 and females averaged $56,200.

Figures were not reported by gender for the professor and instructor ranks.

Pitt-Greensburg

At Pitt-Greensburg, professors averaged $78,000; associate professors averaged $62,900; assistant professors averaged $51,600, and instructors averaged $43,300. The average for all ranks was $56,600.

Male associate professors at UPG averaged $62,700, while females at that rank averaged $63,000; male assistant professors averaged $52,800 and female assistant professors averaged $50,900; male instructors averaged $43,900 and female instructors averaged $42,800.

Figures were not reported by gender for the professor rank.

Pitt-Johnstown

At Pitt-Johnstown, professors averaged $76,000; associate professors earned an average of $64,100; assistant professors averaged $51,100, and instructors averaged $46,100. The average faculty salary for all ranks at UPJ was $57,000.

By gender, male associate professors at UPJ averaged $64,000, while females at that rank averaged $64,400; male assistant professors averaged $52,000 while females at that rank averaged $50,200; male instructors averaged $48,200 and females instructors averaged $44,200.

Figures were not reported by gender for the professor rank.

Pitt-Titusville

Faculty pay at Pitt-Titusville, which is categorized as a category III school (associate’s with ranks), was mixed compared with the average at similar schools nationwide. According to the survey, professors at public category III schools averaged $73,534 in salary. The average salary for UPT professors was not reported because the data are suppressed when there are three or fewer individuals in a category.

Associate professors at UPT averaged $56,500 (nationwide average $61,141); assistant professors averaged $55,100 (nationwide average $53,534), and instructors averaged $47,400 (nationwide average $46,786). The average salary for all ranks at UPT was $54,400 (nationwide average $59,676).

By gender, male assistant professors at UPT averaged $56,700 while females at that rank averaged $52,800; female instructors averaged $47,400. There were no male instructors at Pitt-Titusville.

Figures were not reported by gender for either the professor rank or the associate professor rank at UPT.

Baker noted that lower-than-average faculty pay at the regionals has been the case for a long time. “Pitt needs to correct it if possible,” he said.

Pitt-Greensburg political science faculty member Beverly Gaddy, president of the AAUP’s chapter at Pitt, noted: “Faculty salary at the regional campuses is lower than the national IIB average ($69,465), and far lower than other IIBs in the Middle Atlantic region ($75,677).”

Robert Hill, vice chancellor for Public Affairs, and John Fedele, associate director of News, did not respond to a University Times request for comments from the administration on the salary report.

The AAUP report, which was released last month, can be viewed at www.aaup.org.

—Kimberly K. Barlow


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