Professors at UW-Madison secure important federal research grants, write textbooks and produce original studies that generate revenue for the state. Part of what makes the UW-Madison campus unique and esteemed nationwide is its reputation as a top-tier research university with a top-tier teaching staff.
However, the recent departure of several UW-Madison professors to other universities has confirmed a trend at UW-Madison that may threaten its reputation.
According to the Association of American University Professors' annual report, the average salary of UW-Madison full professors for the 2003-'04 academic year was below the median faculty salaries within the university's peer group. The \peer group"" is defined as the 12 public universities of a similar elite research status, according to the AAUP.
The widening gap
UW's ranking within this peer group has declined since the 2002-'03 term, from ninth to 11th for full professor salaries. Madison faculty is 3.9 percent below the median of the peer universities across all ranks-full, associate and assistant professors.
According to UW-Madison Provost Peter Spear, this disparity is due to a pay plan for professors that does not remain competitive over the extension of a professor's career. Seventy-five to 80 percent of hirings at UW-Madison are at the assistant professor level, a level at which Madison offers a competitive salary, 2.1 percent above the peer group median. However, ""Then they start slipping behind,"" Spear said.
""By the time you are a full professor-call it 10 or 12 years down the line-the pay plan system is no longer competitive, and you are falling further and further behind,"" he said.
Raiding grounds
Other public and private universities are heavily recruiting professors from UW-Madison. In fact, many private universities nationwide offer UW-Madison professors a salary of up to $20,000 more per year.
""The danger is that we'll be seen as a fertile raiding ground for other universities,"" Spear said.
When it comes to bargaining to keep professors, it can be very expensive, according to Spear.
""It's a big investment in money, support and resources for our university to keep that tenured professor, but if other universities succeed in luring them away, then we've lost that investment entirely,"" he said.
""We have lost some people, clearly,"" said Jack O'Meara, legislative representative for Public Representation Organization of the Faculty Senate. PROFS is a non-profit organization of more than 900 UW-Madison faculty members; the group has been influential in lobbying the Legislature for ""competitive compensation"" for faculty.
""A few years ago in Letters and Sciences, we were able to retain 80 to 100 percent [of faculty],"" he said. ""In recent years, that has dropped considerably.""
The $250 million state budget cut for 2003-'05 has affected every aspect of university finances, and the PROFS organization predicts the state will be playing catch-up for the next several years in order to bring faculty pay plans up to the median levels of the national peer group.
Credibility
UW-Madison Professor of philosophy Elliot Sober recently joined the faculty at Stanford University as well; he had been a professor at UW-Madison for 30 years.
""It's a big problem retaining faculty, and also attracting faculty, too,"" he said. ""Talented people elsewhere are often too expensive for us, given the salaries that already exist here.""
The loss of professors has an impact not only on the research reputation of the university, but on the value of education for each student, Sober said.
""Full professors bring students a chance to be taught by people at the forefront of their discipline,"" Spear added. ""If our faculty leave, students won't have that opportunity.""
""When I was a student here, the quality of the faculty was everything, and I think that is still the case. It's the people that make the university,"" O'Meara said. ""Students look to UW to have high-profile professors doing cutting-edge research, and we have that; we shouldn't lose it. We need to do everything we can to keep this issue in front of people.\
