Charts show professor salaries
Some professors at Utah State University search for new knowledge and broaden horizons, but do they receive adequate income for the skills they share?
Numbers found in the “USU Salary Report of Budgeted Funds” show a great fluctuation in professor salaries. For example, the dean of the College of Engineering earns $155,000 a year, while the dean of the College of Science earns $97,000. There are also differences among the departments in each college.
Provost Stan Albrecht said the budgeting at USU is recorded as being 16 percent lower than that of its peer institutions. Some salary fluctuations are the result of a higher market demand for strong technical skills, he said. For example, a mechanical engineer could make almost double the salary in the engineering market than in academia.
Other factors that determine professors’ salaries include time spent at USU, tenure, rank (associate, assistant, etc.), number of research grants generated, books published, and student ratings.
The lower incomes can make it challenging to recruit and keep good faculty members.
Some professors are attracted to USU for personal reasons, including family, safety and beauty of the area. Many stay for those same ties.
Clair Batty, department head of mechanical and aerospace engineering, said, “One thing that attracted me to USU is the quality of the student body. The young people [here] are bright, gifted and hardworking.”
Batty also said he loves the mission of a land-grant institution, which is “to prepare people for life. The combination here is what I like.”
However, Utah is experiencing budgetary woes. But, the administration is doing everything it can to protect the student and teaching enterprise, Batty said.
Albrecht said, “Our focus is to continue to provide the best quality of education to the students. The best determinant of that is the quality of the faculty.”
Some USU professors could go elsewhere and get paid more, so what keeps them here?
Mark Larsen, professor of Spanish, said, “It is wonderful to work in a place where I can count on my colleagues as associates and friends, and we can be cooperative and supportive of one another…and work as a team. It is a plus for Utah State and is why I stay here.”
Most professors do not teach to become rich; they teach because they have a passion for something, and they are here to share that with the students.
“The students should realize that we realize that we have no other reason to be here other than to help them. It is a privilege to be at an institution like Utah State,” Batty said.
–julia@cc.usu.edu
President $215,000Provost $160,000
College of Agriculture
Dean $135,000Professor $133,700Associate Prof. $95,000Assistant Prof. $64,595
College of Education
Dean $123,517Professor $75,065Associate Prof. $67,600Assistant Prof. $56,153
College of HASS
Dean $135,000Professor $98,367Associate Prof. $68,000Assistant Prof. $51,000
College of Business
Dean $135,000Professor $102,031Associate Prof. $89,900Assistant Prof. $86,000
College of Engineering
Dean $155,000Professor $118,346Associate Prof. $100,132Assistant Prof. $80,143
College of Nat. Resources
Dean $115,541Professor $95,209Associate Prof. $77,872Assistant Prof. $49,600
College of Science
Dean $96,126Professor $89,500Associate Prof. $74,239Assistant Prof. $50,619
Head Coaches
M Basketball $200,000Football $151,900W Basketball $60,000Gymnastics $58,500Track & Field $47,000Volleyball $45,750
* Salaries taken from USU Salary Report of Budgeted Funds book – highest listed per department. For exact and detailed salary and budget listings see report.