The University faculty salaries was recently made public by the University for the 2014-15 fiscal year and reflects last year’s policy to increase salaries across the board.
The Board of Visitors initiated a plan February 2013 to increase faculty salaries in an attempt to make the University more competitive against peer institutions in the American Association of Universities. A merit-based increase of 4.75 percent was approved in order to achieve that goal, and the policy was implemented last October.
While the data reveals salary averages for most of the University’s various schools far outstripped the 4.75 percent increase — e.g. the Commerce School salaries increased 14 percent — the Medical School fell short of the target with an increase of 4.6 percent.
With five of the top 10 highest salaries, the Medical School and the University Hospital’s faculty and health affairs employees are among the most heavily compensated by the University.
The top earner on the list is Dr. Richard Shannon, the executive vice president for health affairs, who makes $700,000 annually. Prior to joining the University in 2013, Shannon served as chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
His responsibilities include acting as the liaison between the President, the University’s Health System and the School of Medicine, as well as overseeing the Medical Center and its operating budget of $1.2 billion. His check comes from the University’s Human Resources department, which means he is denoted as an academic employee.
The next highest earners — both part of the University Health System — are Dr. Irving Kron at $561,100, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, and Larry L. Fitzgerald at $525,000, associate vice president for business development and finance at the Medical Center.
Kron is a decorated surgeon who works both in academics and at the Medical Center, and Fitzgerald oversees development, which gathers the finances needed for various projects and expansions within the Health System. Fitzgerald is neither a doctor nor a professor.
The Office of the Provost determines salary levels for the Medical School and Center based on experience level and employees’ outstanding offers at other institutions.
When attracting new employees in the medical field the University must compete with the lucrative healthcare industry for experienced candidates — and experience comes with a price, one reason medical employees may see higher salaries.
Many medical center and school employees serve as administrators, educators and clinicians in varying capacities, which is another reason for the larger salaries. Research faculty already receive a boost in salary for their role in increasing the University’s prestige, and many Medical Center and School employees conduct research in addition to other duties within their departments.
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