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June 10, 1999

PITT vs. PENN STATE: How the faculty salaries compare

PITT vs. PENN STATE: How the faculty salaries compare

Professors at Pitt's regional campuses earn an average of $6,900 to $13,300 less annually, depending on faculty rank, than their counterparts at Penn State branch campuses. At the June 4 meeting of the University Senate budget policies committee, Vice Provost Robert F. Pack pointed out that comparisons between faculty salaries at Pitt and Penn State satellite campuses are skewed because PSU branches emphasize business, engineering and other disciplines that pay comparatively high faculty salaries, while course offerings at Pitt's Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown and Titusville campuses are more comprehensive, with greater emphasis on the humanities.

But English professor Phil Wion, who compiled the statistics comparing Pitt and PSU salaries, replied: "Nevertheless, these [salary] gaps are very sizeable, and serious attention should be directed to them by the provost and whoever else makes decisions" on Pitt faculty compensation.

"If faculty were choosing between teaching at the Pitt or Penn State branch campuses," Wion said, "it's pretty clear where they would go."

Average salary differences between faculty at the Pitt and PSU main campuses are considerably smaller.

The average salary of a PSU full professor in State College is $86,100, compared with $82,800 for a Pitt full professor in Oakland.

Pittsburgh campus associate professors earn an average of $58,600, while assistant profs here make $48,100 — $600 and $700 more, respectively, than their counterparts receive at PSU's main campus.

Faculty librarians at the Penn State main campus get paid an average of $48,600, compared with $42,800 for Pittsburgh campus librarians.

Wion said he compared Pitt and PSU's faculty salaries because the universities are the only two members of the Association of American Universities (AAU) in Pennsylvania with "state-related" status.

Unlike Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities, the four state-related schools (Pitt, PSU, Lincoln and Temple) receive substantial Commonwealth funding but function much like private institutions.

Wion cited Pitt and Penn State salary data, provided by Pitt's Office of Institutional Research, based on three AAU categories:

* Main campuses.

* Category IIB campuses — branches that focus on baccalaureate-level education, including Pitt's Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown campuses.

* Category III campuses — branches that confer at least 75 percent of their degrees below the bachelor's level, including Pitt-Titusville.

The 33 full professors at Penn State Category IIB campuses earn an average salary of $65,600. That's compared with $58,700 among the 17 full professors at Pitt's Johnstown campus, $57,000 among nine full professors at Pitt-Bradford, and $55,400 among 10 full professors at Pitt-Greensburg.

The 110 associate professors at PSU Category IIB campuses earn an average of $53,800. At Pitt's Johnstown campus, 64 associate professors earn an average salary of $46,900. At Pitt-Bradford, 17 associate professors make an average of $46,400, and at Greensburg the average among 24 associate professors is $45,000.

The 170 assistant professors at PSU Category IIB campuses get paid an average salary of $45,100. That's compared with $37,200 among the 27 assistant professors at Pitt-Bradford; $35,600 among 18 Greensburg assistant professors, and $34,800 among 24 Johnstown assistant professors.

At Penn State Category III campuses, 127 associate professors earn an average salary of $51,300, compared with $38,000 for the 10 associate professors at Pitt-Titusville.

The 160 PSU Category III campus assistant professors make an average of $44,000, compared with $32,800 for the eight assistant professors at Titusville.

The Titusville campus employs only one full professor, so Institutional Research doesn't report salary information for that rank there. Among PSU Category III campuses, 42 full professors earn an average of $63,200.

— Bruce Steele


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