Join a live, online discussion with F. King Alexander, an expert on faculty salaries, on the growing pay gap between public and private universities, on Thursday, April 19, at 2 p.m., U.S. Eastern time. The data come from an annual report on the economic status of professors released last week by the American Association of University Professors. It's the seventh time in the last eight years that the increase in faculty salaries has outpaced inflation. But, analysts say, the future is not looking bright. Mr. Benjamin said he believed salaries would probably start to slide backward given the economic downturn.
Most faculty members remain at the same institution from one year to the next.
Ms. Bell said that because of the growing differences in the economic status of faculty members, the average numbers reveal less than statistics that differentiate among types of institutions. The report this year was based on a survey of 1,433 institutions, some 300 fewer than last year. The U.S. Department of Education, which usually gathers some salary data, did not do so for the 2000-1 academic year, meaning that many institutions, especially community colleges, are missing from the A.A.U.P. report. The survey omits the salaries of medical-school professors because their pay is typically much higher than thatof most other faculty members. Also, the survey does not include information on the salaries of part-time instructors.