Today, The Cavalier Daily released a list of salaries paid to University employees who make more than $50,000 annually. Although this may generate controversy among those who feel that the publication amounts to a breach of privacy, it is worth pointing out that all of the included information is a matter of public record. Any state citizen or group that wishes to review faculty salaries may do so, and employees at public universities should know this when they agree to take their positions.
By publishing the list of salaries, The Cavalier Daily hopes to generate thoughtful analysis and discussion of the University's allocation of taxpayer funds and student tuition. This is especially important at a time when baseline tuition is increasing and new surcharges are being required of some students, such as those in the Commerce School who will have to pay a $3,000 differential beginning in the fall. Moreover, with the state contributing funding toward projects such as repairs to the Rotunda and renovations to Cabell Hall, taxpayers also have a right to scrutinize the University's spending practices.
A report that the American Association of University Professors released yesterday aids the interpretation of this data. It features the average salaries and benefits paid to both full- and part-time faculty at universities across the country. This study provides more context for understanding faculty pay than does one that The Washington Business Journal recently published in which university professors are shown to be the highest paid public employees in Virginia. Although the latter report's findings might lead some to conclude that University faculty are overpaid, the reality is quite different when looking at the cross-institutional data that the AAUP provides.
Rather than comparing faculty to state employees working in entirely unrelated fields, the AAUP provides the information necessary to see how the salaries paid to University professors stack up against those at peer institutions. The report indicates that the University pays an average salary of $136,500 to full professors, which is the highest among both public and private colleges in the state. Yet public universities such as the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan all offer average salaries that are several thousand dollars higher than the University's average. Coupled with the fact that University employees have not seen a pay raise since December 2007, this data undercuts the argument that University salaries could be reduced further without driving some talented professors to seek employment at other schools.
To get the full picture of how the University spends its money, however, it is necessary for students and taxpayers to have access to the salaries of individual employees rather than merely the summary statistics included in the AAUP report. With the more specific data included in today's paper, readers will be able to make informed comparisons of spending across different departments at the University, as well as to observe any outliers that may merit special attention. Without the availability of this information, it would be impossible to know whether the University's average salary figure is reflective of an equitable distribution of resources among faculty or if it is instead skewed from high pay accruing to a handful of celebrity professors.
In the end, the frustration felt by some faculty at having their salaries disclosed is outweighed by the benefits of increased transparency and accountability. Students should use this information, as well as the data provided by the AAUP, to learn more about the financial workings of higher education and to ensure that the University spends money fairly and responsibly.
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