SALARIES RISE, BUT NOT MUCH

ASEE Prism, Sep 2004 by Grose, Thomas K

ACADEMIA

THE LATEST survey of faculty salaries is out. For engineering academics, here's the good news: Only law professors earn more. The bad news: Overall faculty salary increases in the 2003-04 academic year were miserly, thanks mainly to tight budgets at public schools. On average, engineering faculty earned $84,784 annually, according the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources survey of 793 institutions of higher learning. The average for law profs: $109,478. Coming in third: business faculty at $79,931. Bringing up the rear, liberal arts professors at $52,234. Overall, salaries last year rose just 2.1 percent, a full point lower than the previous year's average. Public school salaries increased a mere 1.4 percent; private school salaries jumped 3.3 percent. For engineering faculty, the biggest raises went to instructors, whose salaries increased an average 3.1 percent; full profs received the most meager raises, averaging just 1.9 percent. Engineering faculty at private schools on average earn more than their public-school brethren: $86,245 versus $84,208, a difference of 2.36 percent. Law schools also employ the highest average number of full professors: 60.7 percent.The percentage for engineering: 46.2 percent. The average across all disciplines is 33 percent. -TG