This article presents the annual report on the economic status of the profession. This year's report covers three main issues--all perennial problems, but with new analysis based on the latest data--in addition to summarizing the current results from the annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) survey of full-time faculty…

Boston University (BU) has had a history of contentious relations between administrators and faculty. John Silber, who ran the university from the early 1970s through the late 1990s, gave faculty little say in university governance, and an "us versus them" atmosphere soon developed. In 2004, however, major changes in the board of…

For those who still see tenure primarily as a form of job security, the larger economic context should be plain. No one, not even in the traditional professions, can any longer expect a fixed pattern of employment in the course of his or her lifetime. In this article, the author discusses how this generation is witnessing the merging of the…

Explores why higher education no longer needs complicated hierarchies in faculty titles, and proposes the elimination of the distinction between associated and full professor. (EV)

Survey data on faculty in preclinical departments of medical schools include the number of faculty, average salary, and average compensation of faculty at each rank in 68 institutions. (MSE)

It's not hard to understand why college and university professors might worry about trends in faculty compensation. It may be more difficult, however, to see why those outside higher education should share this concern. But they should. In 2005-06, average faculty salaries increased by less than the inflation rate for the second consecutive year,…

Despite the growing intricacy of information management, academic institutions continue to relegate librarians to second-class status and lower pay than their peers in classroom positions. Efforts to combat salary inequities are often confounded by deficiencies in salary reporting systems. Librarians provide important one-to-one educational…

The ambiguity concerning the status and role of the academic librarian and its reflection in the salary disparity between librarians and teaching faculty, and the differences of opinion concerning the solution, are discussed. (MSE)

Examines family formation and its effects on the career lives of both women and men academics from the time they receive their doctorates until 20 years later. Finds that there is a consistent and large gap in achieving tenure between women who have early babies and men who have early babies. Discusses policy implications. (EV)

Administrators are examining spouse/partner assistance programs to determine possible benefits in terms of recruitment, market competition, retention rates, faculty health, and community participation. If part-time and temporary positions were not the dead-ends they are now, they might provide a transition for women and men engaged in…

Data from the 1988 report of Committee W on the Status of Women in the Academic Profession suggests that sex discrimination in salaries, rank, and tenure persist. A comparison of women faculty's salaries and ranks in five institutions of widely varying types is provided. (MSE)

Disciplinary and rank salary differences in higher education are immense and growing, and neither a marketplace nor a uniform approach explains or guides the setting of academic salaries. Salary differences must be prevented from generating feelings of second-class citizenship to maintain a common purpose among faculty. (MSE)

By last spring, most faculty members at public institutions of higher education were justifiably pessimistic about their likely salary increases for the 2003-04 academic year. Many states were running large budget deficits for the second or third year in a row and no longer had reserves to draw upon to balance their budgets. These shortfalls…

The average salaries for full professors and new assistant professors in 21 disciplines for 1976-77 and 1984-85 are ranked and the percentage increases in the intervening period are listed and analyzed. (MSE)

The University of California's "step" system for appointment and advancement of faculty and the salary scale attached to it are outlined, and some criteria and procedures used in making academic personnel decisions are reviewed. (MSE)