University Times

An annual analysis of how faculty salaries at Pitt compare with peers at public Association of American Universities (AAU) schools showed Pittsburgh campus professors and associate professors fell one place on the list of 34 schools while assistant professors and librarians moved up two slots in the rankings.

In its 2011-12 report presented Sept. 28 to the University Senate budget policies committee, the University’s Management Information and Analysis office used salary data from the most recent American Association of University Professors (AAUP) annual salary report (see May 3 University Times) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in its comparisons.

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Professors

Compared to peers at 34 public AAU institutions, Pitt’s professors ranked No. 16 with an average salary of $134,800. At the top of the list was UCLA, where professors earned an average of $162,600. Ranked at the bottom of the 34 schools was the University of Oregon with average salary of $112,300 for professors.

Last year, professors at Pitt ranked No. 15 among 35 public AAU schools. (The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which was included in last year’s peer group, has since been removed from AAU membership.)

The average salary for professors at Pitt increased 1.5 percent, up from $132,800 in last year’s report.

In comparison, the median salary for professors at public AAU institutions rose 0.5 percent.

Associate professors

Pitt’s associate professors dropped one place to No. 14,  with an average salary of $90,000. UCLA topped the list with an average salary of $107,400 for associate professors. Ranking last in the category was the University of Missouri-Columbia, where associate professors earned an average of $75,900.

Average pay for Pitt’s associate professors was up 1.8 percent, from $88,400 in last year’s report. In comparison, the median salary at the public AAU institutions increased 2.8 percent for associate professors.

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Assistant professors

Assistant professors at Pitt moved up two places to No. 26, with an average salary of $75,000. The University of California-Berkeley was No. 1 with an average salary of $92,300 for the rank. Assistant professors at the University of Missouri-Columbia averaged the lowest pay among the 34 schools with $61,700.

Average pay for assistant professors at Pitt was up 3.9 percent, from $72,200 last year. In comparison, the median salary at the public AAU institutions rose 1.6 percent for assistant professors.

Librarians

The average librarian salary at Pitt also moved up two

places this year to No. 14, tied with Michigan State and the University of Virginia at $71,400. Highest paid were librarians at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, who averaged $91,000. Librarians at the University of Missouri-Columbia had the lowest average pay on the peer group list at $58,400.

Librarian salaries at Pitt were up 3.2 percent, from $69,200 a year ago. In comparison, the median salary for librarians at the public AAU institutions increased 3 percent.

Pitt’s IIB regionals

The University’s Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown campuses are compared collectively to a peer group consisting of Carnegie Foundation category IIB (undergraduate baccalaureate-level) peers in the AAUP’s Middle Atlantic, East North Central and South Atlantic regions. The peer group includes both public and private IIB institutions (including private independent, church-related or proprietary schools.)

Rankings in this group are by deciles, with the first decile representing the top 10 percent of the peer group.  In this year’s comparison, 236 schools were represented, in deciles of 23 or 24 institutions.

Professors on the three Pitt regional campuses ranked at the bottom of the 5th decile with an average salary of $78,200.

At the top of the 24 schools in the 5th decile were Seton Hill and Mount Union, with salaries averaging $81,700 for the rank.

Average salaries for professors in the peer group overall ranged from $142,300 at Barnard College to $48,100 at St. Andrews University.

In last year’s analysis, professors at Pitt’s three regionals ranked near the middle of the 5th decile with average salaries of $78,200.

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Associate professors on the three Pitt regional campuses ranked in the middle of the 5th decile, tied with Eckerd College and Cedar Crest College. Their average pay was $64,400.

Average salaries at the 24 schools in the 5th decile ranged from $66,000 at Cabrini College to $62,900 at Hollins and Millikin universities.

Average salaries for associate professors in the peer group overall ranged from $104,400 at the U.S. Naval Academy to $40,300 at Lees-McRae College.

In last year’s analysis, associate professors on the three Pitt regional campuses ranked near the bottom of the 4th decile with average salaries of $64,200.

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Assistant professors at Pitt’s three regionals ranked near the bottom of the 6th decile with an average salary of $52,700, tied with Shawnee State University.

Average salaries for the 23 schools in the 6th decile ranged from $54,000 at Cedar Crest and Morehouse colleges to $52,500 at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Average salaries for assistant professors in the peer group overall ranged from $82,000 at the U.S. Naval Academy to $38,800 at Ohio Valley University.

In last year’s analysis, assistant professors at Pitt’s regionals ranked at the top of the 6th decile with an average salary of $52,500.

Pitt-Titusville

Faculty pay at Pitt-Titusville, a Carnegie Foundation category III (associate’s degree-level) school, was not compared in the report.

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In discussing the report, BPC chair John J. Baker said Pitt salaries for full and associate professors are “quite competitive,” falling in the middle of the group of AAU public peers.

However, Pitt’s below-average pay for assistant professors is problematic, he said. He noted that although Pitt moved up two spots in the rankings, assistant professors’ pay remains well below many of its peers.

Committee member Michael Spring commented that the cost of living is a factor that isn’t figured into the rankings. “Even some institutions below us have a more expensive cost of living,” he pointed out.

Using a cost of living calculator, he noted that a $90,000 salary in Pittsburgh is the equivalent of $93,000 in Buffalo or $126,000 in Los Angeles.

David DeJong, vice provost for academic planning and resources management and a chancellor’s liaison to BPC, agreed, noting that although the University may be lower ranked in some of the salary comparisons, differences in salaries are relatively flat. “It’s not like we’re a 15 percent raise away from being ranked in the middle of the pack,” he said.

BPC co-chair Beverly Gaddy, a faculty member at Pitt-Greensburg, addressed regional faculty members’ salaries.

“I don’t think it looks so good for the regional campuses,” she said, noting that many schools that appear to be of lower quality than Pitt were ahead of the University in the salary rankings. “It’s rather embarrassing,” she said.

—Kimberly K. Barlow