We all know our University is the flagship institution of higher learning in this state. But how do we stand against schools of comparable size across the country? Not so well, if you look at one important factor: how much we’re paying our faculty.
Adequate faculty pay is obviously a crucial component of retaining the best, most qualified professors on our campus. Recent academic studies are shining a spotlight on the salaries we’re giving full-time faculty here, and the numbers aren’t flattering – in fact, University professors are making 80 percent of what they would make at other comparable schools. How are we supposed to retain the best faculty when it is in their best interest to move on as quickly as possible?
That impact is being felt both on the quality of instruction here and on the amount of research being conducted. The University recently fell out of the top tier of research institutions, according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This, combined with low professor pay, has threatened to turn the University into an institution where new faculty stay just long enough until they can move on to more prestigious and higher paying institutions.
“Faculty” should not be mistaken for “administration,” however. Administrators – including University President Dave Frohnmayer and Provost Linda Brady – have seen their salaries rise with inflation for more than a decade. That’s because their salaries are partially covered by the University of Oregon Foundation, the nonprofit foundation that allocates private donations to the University. Likewise, members of the UO Foundation have seen their salaries rise steadily over the past few years. Some have even watched their salaries double.
Why aren’t our faculty members being given the same treatment? They are just as important to the University’s mission of education as administrators. Without professors, there is no University. We cannot stand by and continue to call our University a flagship school if it is not committed to hiring and retaining top-notch faculty.
It should be noted that while administrators can rely on the UO Foundation, faculty are dependent only upon the state. And during times such as these when the economy is slow, public institutions may be forced to take hits to their budgets. Nevertheless, Frohnmayer, Brady and their six-figure contracts will remain in place. Professors making $45,000 won’t fare as well and some will move on to universities where they can expect higher salaries and better benefits.
This is a dire situation. At stake is the very reputation of our University. It is time to invest in our faculty. The professors who are responsible for the academic prominence of the University deserve to be paid what they are worth. If we want to realize our University’s vision as a premier institution of education then the time for that change is now.