From the College to the Engineering School and extending to all arms of the University, there is neither much variation in the evaluation procedures that lead to raises in faculty salaries nor many differences in how a new hire's salary is determined. Nevertheless, setting faculty salaries is a nuanced process with many contributing factors influencing why one professor or administrator makes more than another.
Where the money comes from
The money to pay University faculty comes from a variety of sources. Justin Thompson, assistant provost for academic planning and development, said all schools receive funding from the same sources: commonwealth appropriations, tuition, grants and contracts, private monies and auxiliary revenues, such as athletic revenues, University Bookstore sales and housing and dining fees. The Darden School and the Law School, however, are largely self-sufficient, receiving very little compensation from the commonwealth, he said.
The amount of money available for salary increases comes from the percent increase in appropriations provided by the state government. Thompson said the General Assembly and the governor approve funds for pay increases. If they provide, for example, a 4-percent increase, 3 percent goes to the schools and 1 percent is reserved for the executive vice president and provost's "hold-back pool," reserved for "critical needs" or teaching priorities, Thompson explained..
Endowments also contribute to the salaries of some professors, Interim College Dean Karen Ryan said. In the College there are about 100 endowed chairs, each of whom receives a portion of his salary from the endowment.
The athletic department, however, receives no funding from the state and must find revenue elsewhere.
"By virtue of the fact that we are in the ACC and we participate in the ACC's revenue-sharing [program], we get X number of dollars for our participation," Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said. Conference revenues are driven by football bowl games, men's basketball NCAA Tournament participation, TV and radio contracts and ACC tournaments, and the conference collects the revenue before it is distributed among the 12 schools, Littlepage said.
Littlepage added that football coach Al Groh, whose base salary is $277,800, receives supplemental compensation from apparel companies, media support and fundraising.
Hiring procedures
To recruit the best faculty, the average salaries at a school must match benchmarks set by comparable schools, Education School Dean Robert Pianta said. The value of a new hire is often determined by market trends or what a person in a given position or discipline is paid at peer institutions.
Other factors that impact the salaries of potential hires are the salaries of other faculty within the same department and whether the candidate already holds an academic position, said Jim Freeland, associate dean for faculty at the Darden School; however, the major factor remains the current market value of the position.
"If you took BusinessWeek -- the top 20 [graduate business schools] -- basically they determine what the salaries are going to be," he said, adding that this procedure often lends itself to negotiation. "Sometimes we're trying to hire someone, and they will tell us 'We've got an offer from Stanford and they're offering X amount of money.'"
According to the University Budget Office Web site, the Board of Visitors also establishes a yearly minimum salary for entry-level full-time faculty, which is "incremented each year for the upcoming state authorized salary increase." For the 2007-08 academic year, full professors are offered a minimum of $75,400, associates professors $62,500 and assistant professors $51,000.
Getting a raise
While a minimum salary is established by the Board of Visitors, Faculty Senate Chair Ricardo Padron said, the process for obtaining a raise in pay is more complex.
Padron said if faculty do not believe they are being fairly compensated, they can go to the chair of their department or the dean of their school.
"As to whether that is going to get anything for you is another question altogether," he said, adding that the raises just keep up with inflation but do not take into account the rising cost of living in Charlottesville.
He added that the salaries at the University are low compared to peer institutions.
University President John T. Casteen, III noted, however, that the University pays unusually high salaries to humanities professors.
The process of giving raises depends on merit-based evaluative measures, which are similar across the University's schools. According to Ryan, the College allocates funds to department chairs for the distribution of raises. The chairs provide recommendations to the deans as to the value of the raises. Then, if the dean accepts a recommendation, it is sent to the provost, president and Board for approval.
Casteen added that he looks into "aberrational cases only," to ensure someone is neither severely overpaid nor underpaid and to avoid issues of favoritism or bias.
As a dean, Freeland said he determines raises based on evaluations of an instructor's performance in the classroom, curriculum development, research and service on committees.
Similarly, the athletic department faces many of the same guidelines as academic departments. Littlepage said because coaches are members of the administrative general faculty, they also face yearly evaluations.
Commerce School Dean Carl P. Zeithaml said it is crucial that faculty understand why raises are provided.
"The most important thing in these decisions is transparency," he said. "There has to be a clear and well-understood relationship between the faculty members' total contributions and their compensation."
Additional compensation
While the process for obtaining a raise is fairly uniform across the University, the procedure for awarding additional compensation to faculty is more complex. Technically, no bonuses are given to faculty, Ryan said, though some faculty do receive additional payment for taking on administrative positions and serving in other roles at the University; however, there is no overall salary cap for any position.
Ryan said distinctions in position can also affect the pay grade. Assistant professors must have a doctorate and teach for six years before being considered for tenure. After receiving tenure, they are promoted to associate professor, though to become a full professor "you have to achieve a certain level of prominence," Ryan said, adding that publishing a second book or an important scientific article could initiate the transition.
"The average raise operates from year to year," Ryan said. "But when one is promoted from assistant to associate and associate to full, the raise that year is going to be much higher."
When a member of the faculty takes on additional responsibilities, such as acting as director of a program or working as department chair, he also will receive additional compensation for going above and beyond, Thompson said. In this case, Thompson said, the professor would receive "'acting pay' for extraordinary performance or taking on responsibilities outside their job description."
Thompson said Politics Prof. Larry Sabato, for example, is designated by the president to teach across departments and schools. Sabato receives a base annual compensation of $260,000.
Moreover, the president of the University also may receive further compensation, Thompson said; Casteen, whose base salary is $487,000, can receive annual supplementation from the Board from "private gifts, endowment funds or income from endowments and gifts."
Salary differences between schools and departments
The school in which a professor works can also significantly impact pay. Even within a school, however, salaries can vary by department due to pressure from job markets outside of the University.
In terms of base salary, the economics department has higher paid professors than other departments in the College, Ryan said.
Someone in the economics department "could go into academia with a Ph.D. or they could work at the Federal Reserve or in business," she said. "In art history there aren't those types of market forces. You could go into the museum world, etc., but typically you're going to go to work as an academic, so the market is much different."
Including full and part-time faculty, the average salary in the art department is about $40,000 less than compensation in the economics department.
Similar factors also impact salary differences among the University's schools.
Engineering School Dean James Aylor said salaries in his school are typically higher than those in the humanities because they are controlled by the demands of industry. Professors, however, are not always compensated as well as they would have been in the professional world, Aylor added.
Law School Dean John Jeffries said the salaries in the Law School are comparable to salaries at other major law schools, but they are low compared to the salary of some acting lawyers. The average pay in the law school, including full time and part time employees is $165,874.
Some schools, however, are not able to pay such high salaries.
"Education schools in general are not in a position, salary-wise, as other schools are," Pianta said. "That is consistent in the University and also nationally."
The same standards remain for those in administrative positions. Casteen noted that a business school dean makes typically makes more than an architecture school dean, which remains true at the University. Darden Dean Robert Bruner makes $518,900, while Architecture Dean Karen Van Lengen earns $241,500.
Despite competition with peer institutions and positions outside of academia, many believe the University fares well. Thompson said the University aims to set compensation in the 65th percentile in comparison to peer institutions.
Aylor also noted the University's efforts to offer competitive salaries.
"From the standpoint of losing faculty because of salaries -- we don't have that problem," he said.
Read More
Shots fired reported at 100 block of Harmon Street, no injuries reported
By Thomas Baxter | 4 days agoThis is the first community alert of June.
Full Board discusses financial aid challenges, medical research and entrepreneurship
By Thomas Baxter | 5 days agoBoard members discussed the Pan-University Entrepreneurship Initiative, a project that aims to help develop more entrepreneurial ventures at the University.
Finance Committee approves 2024-25 operating budget and Major Capital Plan
By Zackary Holt | 6 days agoThe proposed 2024-25 fiscal year budget for the Academic Division includes a 6.8 percent increase in spending over the previous year.
