But professors still lag far behind other professionals when it comes to salary, and their pay, when adjusted for inflation, is actually 4.4 percent lower today than it was in 1971-72, the AAUP said. The findings are based on an association survey of 1,839 colleges and universities in 1997-98. College and university faculty earned 42 percent less than other professionals with similar levels of education, the study said. That comparison was based on federal earnings data for workers with at least 18 years of education. Jacqueline King of the American Council on Education, a group representing university presidents, acknowledged that professors haven't made any real salary gains since the 1970s, but said schools are also under tremendous pressure to keep tuition down.
Institutions are under a lot of competing pressures.