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Report and Recommendations of the ad hoc Advisory Committee on Faculty Salaries

Provost's Letter Announcing the Report -- July 17, 1998

Attached is our Committee report and recommendations. All members of the committee are in agreement with the conclusions and major recommendations of the report although there may be some differences on minor details or points of emphasis. Given the time constraints available for our study, the report represents our best effort to address the questions in your letter of February 17, 1998. We hope that you will circulate our report broadly so that it might attract additional useful comments.

We are grateful to you for taking the time to meet with the committee twice during the past few months. Your candor and willingness to consider new approaches were much appreciated. And we also thank you for this opportunity to undertake this important assignment. All committee members learned much from our deliberations and enjoyed the collegial spirit of our discussions.

Contents:

  Executive Summary
I. Introduction
A. Provosts Charge to the Committee
B. Committee Deliberations
C. Overall Conclusions
II. The UW Salary Situation
A. The Trend in Salaries from 1984 to 1997
B. Comparisons with Peer Institutions
III. A Survey of Current Departmental Merit Salary Reviews
IV. Recommendations for a New Salary Policy
A. Problems with the Current System
B. Suggested Statement of Principles for a New Salary Policy
C. A Suggested Model of Faculty Reviews and Career Development
V. Unit Level Considerations in a Salary Policy
A. Differential Allocations to Units
B. Using Non-State Funds to Increase Salary Levels
VI. List of Recommendations

Appendices

A. Committee Appointment Letter of February 17, 1998, from Provost Lee Huntsman
B. Definitions and Assumptions for the Analysis of the Salary Situation
C. Questionnaire sent to 24 Departments and Colleges Regarding Salary Allocation
D. Department of Sociology Faculty Activity Report

Tables

Table 1. Historical Trends in Monthly Salary (Constant 1992 dollars) of Full-time Faculty on 9/10-month appointments by Rank, College, and Division: University of Washington, Seattle Campus, 1984-1997
Table 2. Comparison of Average UW Faculty Salaries (only 9 month Full-time) by College, Division, and Department with Peer Institutions: 1997-98
Table 3. Comparisons of Average UW Full Professor FTE Salaries by College, Division, and Department with Peer Institutions: 1997-98
Table 4. Comparisons of Average UW Associate and Assistant Professor FTE Salaries by College and Division with Peer Institutions: 1997-98

Charts

Chart 1. Monthly Inflation-Adjusted Salary of 9/10 Full-Time Faculty, University of Washington-Seattle Campus