March-April 2007

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AAUP The Annual Report On The Economic Status Of The Profession, 2006-07

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The Annual Report On The Economic Status Of The Profession, 2006–07

List of Tables and Figures
Explanation of Statistical Data
Report in .pdf format

Highlights of the report:

Inflation is down and full-time faculty salaries are finally back up. But financial inequality in American higher education is growing. There are widening gaps between rich and poor institutions; among presidents, football coaches, and faculty members; and among faculty members. This report looks at the potential negative consequences for higher education if these inequalities continue to expand. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Overall average faculty salaries rose 3.8 percent between 2005–06 and 2006–07. With annual inflation at 2.5 percent, this is the first “real” increase in average salary since 2003–04.
  • Investment earnings from institutional endowments are a growing source of inequality among colleges and universities. Institutions that have larger endowments can spend more on faculty and facilities and reap higher rates of return than institutions that have smaller endowments.
  • Escalating salaries for college and university presidents continue to separate them from the economic realities faced by their faculty and staff employees. When presidents routinely receive salaries that are three times those paid to senior faculty members, the gulf is clearly widening.
  • Topping even presidential salaries, the contracts offered to Division I football coaches are also raising eyebrows this year. This report compares salaries for coaches, presidents, and faculty members and asks what the pay differences among them say about our institutional priorities.
  • There is also growing financial inequality within the faculty. This year’s report takes a new look at disciplinary differences in salaries and calls for an open and frank discussion of the impact of salary disparities on faculty careers.

Unless otherwise indicated, the data in this report were provided by institutions responding to the AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey and were compiled and analyzed by the AAUP Research Office. Any questions concerning the report should be directed to the American Association of University Professors, Research Office, 1012 Fourteenth Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005-3465. (202) 737-5900. Additional copies of the report are available for purchase from the AAUP.