Syracuse University has provided its faculty salary data to both the local and national chapters of the American Association of University Professors after previously declining to share the information.

In 2014, SU declined to provide the data used in compiling the Committee Z Report — a public record of the average faculty member’s salary in each college — to the local AAUP chapter. However, after discussions between Chancellor Kent Syverud and faculty members about the reasoning and effects of the decision, SU’s data was included in the 2014–15 AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey.

Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs at SU, said in an email that the university based its decision not to share the information on the need to consider the legal landscape surrounding the sharing of faculty salary data. This was due to Syverud’s concerns. As a law school dean, Syverud has been aware that antitrust action has been brought regarding the sharing of law school faculty salaries among law school deans, Quinn said.

Pat Cihon, the president of SU’s AAUP and an associate professor of law and public policy, said Syverud spoke to the University Senate in December or January about openness and transparency. Following that meeting, Cihon reached out to him regarding the salary surveys.

“So I wrote him a letter near the end of January saying based on your words about shared governance and transparency that your words are encouraging, but, you know, will you please take some actions to back them up,” Cihon said.

One way to do that, Cihon said he wrote Syverud, would be to share the salary surveys. Cihon said he received a call from Syverud a couple weeks later saying he would do that.

Cihon partly attributed the decision to share the information to Syverud hearing negative reactions from faculty, including himself, after SU declined to provide the data. He added that the decision could be a result of Syverud getting familiar with the routine and getting more comfortable after vetting his initial concerns.

The data is used for two surveys — the local report and the national report. The local iteration shows the average salaries of faculty among the various schools on campus, and in some cases breaks down into salary based on departments, Cihon said. It can be used to show faculty how their pay compares to the average in their college.

The national report breaks down the average salary of professors, associate professors and instructors at schools across the country. This can be used to see how SU averages stack up against its peers, Cihon said.

In the 2014–15 national survey, SU’s data shows that full professors make an average of $127,700 annually. Associate professors make an average of $94,600, assistant professors typically make $76,500 and instructors at SU make an average of $67,700.

Cihon said he’s hopeful that withholding the information won’t become an issue moving forward.

Published on April 21, 2015 at 8:45 pm

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