The average salary level for college and university faculty for the 1991-92 academic year is 3.5 percent above that of the 1990-91 school year, the smallest nominal increase in more than 20 years, a study released Thursday said.
The report by the American Association of University Professors also said that when adjusted for inflation, faculty members received a real pay increase of only 0.4 percent.The average salary for faculty with academic rank for all colleges and universities combined is $51,080 at doctoral-level institutions; $43,440 at comprehensive institutions; $37,260 at general baccalaureate institutions; and $37,760 at two-year institutions, according to data collected from 2,025 institutions.
The study said the average salary level for college and university faculty of all ranks combined for the academic year 1991-92 is 3.5 percent above that of the 1990-91 school year. The rate is lower than the 5.4 percent increase faculty received last year.
The report also showed a growing disparity between salary increases at private and public institutions.
During the past year, salaries rose 2.9 percent in public institutions but rose 4.7 percent at private independent institutions and 5.5 percent at church-related institutions, the study said.
From 1986-87 to 1991-92, average annual rates of salary growth were 5.4 percent at public schools, 6.3 percent at private independent schools and 5.8 percent at church-related institutions. But during the past decade, the comparable salary increase rates were 4.9 percent, 5.9 percent and 5.7 percent per year, respectively.
The study said that while the recession of 1990 can be blamed for some of the slow growth in salaries in the public sector, "past experiences show that even when the economy picks up . . . salaries still grew faster in private than in public institutions."