Ohio State’s faculty compensation rates fall below the average of its benchmarks, placing the university eighth out of 10 educational institutions.
The average faculty salary is $78,840, placing OSU 46th out of 60 universities by the Association of American Universities’ overall salary ranking. Fifteen years ago, OSU was 21st.
The Offices of Academic Affairs and Human Resources teamed up to present a report on OSU’s compensation rates and rankings in comparison to other universities to the Board of Trustees Friday.
“We are below average of our benchmarks,” said Barbara Snyder, vice provost for academic policy and human resources and one of the presenters. The benchmark universities identified in OSU’s Academic Plan include the University of Michigan, Penn State and Arizona State.
“Faculty raise packages are behind,” Snyder said. “The average percent increases that we’ve given are below average.”
Although OSU has progressed steadily in the last five years, increasing compensation anywhere from 3.5 percent to 4.8 percent each year, other universities have been able to raise salaries by as much as eight percent.
“As much as we’ve made compensation a priority, other universities have given larger increases,” said Larry Lewellen, associate vice provost for human resources and co-presenter of the report.
OSU’s incapability to keep up with its benchmarks cannot be directly linked to one cause at this point. However, Lewellen said lack of state support plays a role.
“The situation is complicated and complex,” he said, “but Ohio isn’t investing in higher education as other states have been.”
OSU suffered a minimal salary increase in the 2001-2002 budget while benchmark universities maintained average salary raises around five percent.
The university could increase faculty compensation by only one percent, the equivalent of $396. The raise covered the growing costs of parking and health insurance that year. Lewellen also said the budget cuts are responsible for the low raise.
“That one bad year really hurt us,” he said.
In 2001, former OSU President William “Brit” Kirwan proposed to meet the average benchmark faculty salary by 2005-2006 as part of his Academic Plan. OSU faculty fears the goal may take longer than expected.
“If we increase faculty salaries by one percent more than the market average every year, it will take two to three years longer than Kirwan committed,” said Charlie Wilson, chairman of the Faculty Compensation and Benefits Committee for the University Senate.
In order to reach Kirwan’s goals, faculty salaries would have to increase by 1.6 percent more than the average for the next three years.
“We could lose our most productive faculty if the only way to get a raise is to go to another university,” Wilson said. “We can’t retain them if they make less here than what they can make elsewhere.”
OSU’s staff and graduate associates also face below-average salaries.
“State government pay systems are separate from the higher education pay systems,” Lewellen said. “The state government has been able to give larger raises than the university.”
In addition, OSU’s benchmark institutions have been raising average staff salaries comparable to its faculty, said Robert Meier, chair of the University Staff Advisory Committee.
“If they don’t get a concerted effort on board, you will see (OSU) staff start exercising their efforts to look at other employers,” Meier said.
Although compensation remains a number one concern among the OSU staff, members understand the university is facing budget cuts.
“Right now, the university is still a great place to work,” Meier said. “But sooner or later, food on the table has to take precedence.”
