American collegiate faculty members' salaries increased by 3.7 percent this year, according to the American Association of University Professors' annual salary report released this week.
The AAUP reported that the average salary of a full-time faculty member rose from $56,282 last year to $58,352 this year.
The report found full-time professors earn an average of $76,197 nationwide. The average full-time University professor's salary is $101,179, a 4.78 percent increase from $96,501 last year.
Twenty-eight other schools have an average professor salary of over $100,000. Last year, only 19 schools had an average professor salary over $100,000.
The report found the average salary of all ranks of professors and instructors at the University is $78,012, up by about $3,000 from last year.
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The survey omits medical school professors because their pay is usually much higher than other faculty members' salaries.
University Astronomy professor Robert O'Connell said although $101,179 seems high, the AAUP's practice of lumping all professors - graduate and undergraduate - into the same category inflates the overall numbers.
For example, O'Connell said professors in the College have salaries that are still significantly lower than salaries at other public institutions.
Faculty Senate Chairman David T. Gies agreed the figures can be misleading. "I think the real issue is not gross dollar figures, but the need to stay competitive with other schools," Gies said.
He said he applauds the University and Commonwealth's efforts to improve faculty salaries, which have been low compared to the University's peer institutions since 1990.
Gies said University President John T. Casteen III announced at a recent Faculty Senate meeting that he hopes to secure enough funds from the state to raise University faculty salaries to the 60th percentile among its peer institutions.
Offering competitive salaries is the best way the University can "recruit and retain the best faculty possible for U.Va.'s undergraduate students," Gies said.
The AAUP also reported that although faculty salaries increased more than the 2.7 percent rate of inflation, the gap between faculty and other highly educated professionals such as doctors and lawyers is widening. Faculty members earn 24 percent less than other professionals.
According to the report, faculty salaries have outpaced the rate of inflation six times in the past seven years.
The report also found that the University's average associate professor's salary is $68,870, the average assistant professor's salary is $53,713, the average instructor's salary is $42,997 and the average lecturer's salary is $41,171.
The national averages are $55,315 for associate professors, $45,528 for assistant professors, $34,662 for instructors and $38,075 for lecturers.
The report was based on a survey of 1,761 institutions.
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