Penn State Intercom......April 4, 2002

Senate hears
faculty salary report

A study presented to the Faculty Senate last week shows that the University is showing progress in upgrading faculty salary levels, but still lags behind its peers when compared with Big Ten schools and similar institutions around the nation.

This fact has not been lost on the University's administration. Despite the state of the economy in Pennsylvania and significant reduction in the proposed legislative appropriation for Penn State next year, President Graham B. Spanier is sticking to his pledge to bring salaries to a level better served to help recruit and retain the best faculty in the nation.

"Every year since I've been here, we've made it a top priority to put the same percentage increase in each department or unit's salary pool," said Spanier in his opening remarks to the Senate. "We've tried to treat everybody fairly ­ that will not change."

The 2000-2001 salary data compiled by the American Association of University Professors shows that Penn State is consistently ranked in the middle tier of Big Ten schools in terms of academic pay, including when the figures are adjusted for cost of living. The benchmarking differential between salary rankings of tenured and non-tenured faculty is what's particularly striking: Full professors at Penn State rank near the top of the Big Ten in terms of annual salary, while assistant professors and instructors are closer to the bottom of the scale.

Strides to move the University to the top of all salary-ranking tables have already begun. The report's conclusion notes that a "one-year analysis ... demonstrates improvement that hopefully can be maintained."

In other business, senators passed legislative measures designed to clarify the relationship between the 5-year-old Schreyer Honors College and other academic units. Many perceive the relationship as complex since the Honors Colleges consists of faculty from other colleges and students studying a vast array of disciplines.

The Senate also revised its policy on class attendance, suggesting new guidelines on how instructors should handle student absences from class due to unavoidable reasons.

Senators also passed a proposal to incorporate UniSCOPE -- a scholarship and service evaluation model first presented in September 2000 -- into the University's official policy dealing with promotion and tenure.

Among many information reports was a presentation by Scott Kretchmar, faculty representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. His report showed a 75 percent six-year graduation rate among Penn State student-athletes who entered the University in 1994, compared with the national average of 58 percent. This places Penn State first when compared to Big Ten public institutions. Nittany Lion student-athletes also earned the most Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2000-2001, with 225.

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