UC Ponders Professorial Salary Differences

October 18, 1999

Faculty salaries at UC campuses vary significantly, according to information being examined by systemwide UC Academic Senate Executive Councils. Concern was precipitated when the 23 April 1999 Chronicle of Higher Education reported average annual faculty salaries (Table) based on the AAUP annual report on the status of the profession. The UC Davis Full Professor average salary is at the bottom of the seven major campuses. Assistant and Associate Professor salaries fit into narrower ranges, but UC Davis ranked near the bottom in these categories also.

UC Campus	Full Prof., 1000$	Assoc. Prof., 1000$	Asst. Prof., 1000$	% above Step IV	% above Step VIII
Berkeley	103.6	68.3	57.0	74	19.3
Los Angeles	101.4	65.4	54.7	64	19.2
San Diego	96.6	64.1	53.7	65	16.7
Santa Barbara	94.2	61.7	51.0	62	14.8
Irvine	92.7	65.5	53.1	57	8.8
Riverside	88.2	61.1	54.8	47	9.7
Davis	87.4	62.5	52.1	48	5.6

UC Office of the President prepared more statistics to learn what factors might be influencing the numbers. Average age and age distribution of faculty indicated only slight differences among the campuses. A major factor appears to be the distribution of faculty at Professor rank. The last two Table columns show the percent of Full Professors at or above Step V and above scale (above Step VIII). UC Davis is again at the bottom, and for above-scale professors, significantly lower than UC Riverside.

This information raises some questions: Do other campuses have conditions more conducive to academic success? Do campus Deans, Provosts, and CAPs have different standards for promotions and merit increases? Are UC Davis faculty more cautious in recommending promotions? Have standards slipped at some other campuses while UC Davis is holding the line? The answers have implications for our Campus culture and collegial relations. DFA members should also ponder these differences, and urge the UC Academic Senate Executive Councils to give this issue their full attention.