Public-private university salary gap widens: Report

David Weinberg Apr 8, 2013
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Public-private university salary gap widens: Report

David Weinberg Apr 8, 2013
HTML EMBED:
COPY

A new report out today by the American Association of University Professors reveals a widening salary gap between public and private university professors. Given the dismal outlook of State budgets across the country, public universities will have to find a way to compete for talent with fewer resources than their private counterparts.

For a doctoral professor at public research university the average salary this year is $123,393. That same professor at a private university makes just over $167,118. It’s a gap that’s grown since last year.

John Thelin, author of The Rising Cost of Higher Education, says that disparity will have a profound impact on where professors chose to teach.

“Private and independent colleges and universities will be far more competitive and attractive to top academic talent,” Thelin says.

With education funding growing tighter, both public and private universities are offering fewer tenure-track positions. Saranna Thornton, one of the authors of the report, says this could lead to a pipeline effect.

“The best and brightest undergrads, we worry about people like that not even going into higher education,” Thornton says.

Instead, those graduates are could choose more lucrative careers in medicine, law and engineering.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.