The salaries of professors at both public and private universities in Wisconsin are well below the national average, according to a study released Monday by the American Association of University Professors.
The study shows the average professor's salary at 16 of Wisconsin's 29 universities is below $73,000, but the national average is $108,749.
According to UW System spokesperson David Giroux, this is no surprise to UW System officials. He said faculty salaries at Wisconsin universities have lagged behind those of their peers for years.
The UW System is working to convince the state to invest more in faculty compensation, Giroux said. However, the state Legislature has been resistant because of its financial challenges in the current economic climate.
""At a time when people are … facing severe economic hardship, any discussion about faculty salaries is out of sync with what the average Wisconsin citizen is going through,"" Giroux said.
However, Jeff Smith, chair of the Legislature's Colleges and Universities Committee, said low faculty salaries could lower the quality of higher education in Wisconsin.
""Hopefully we will be able to recover … before our education is depleted to the degree where we are catching up,"" he said.
Smith also said the Legislature allows universities to find resources on their own for increasing salaries.
UW-Madison provost Julie Underwood said the University of Wisconsin Foundation launched a fundraising campaign in 2008 to provide financial support for faculty and staff.
Gov. Jim Doyle also put $15 million of state funds into the Faculty Retention and Recruitment Fund. Smith said this is a step in the right direction but would not significantly affect faculty salaries in the state.
Giroux, however, said Wisconsin would not see a migration of its faculty to higher-paying colleges as a result of the study.
""[Faculty migration is] a phenomenon that we've seen over the years, but it's not something that we expect to spike any time soon,"" he said.
Underwood stressed this is especially true at UW-Madison.
""The way we continue to retain people is that we've got a great institution, so people want to be here. They want to come here and do their best work,"" she said.
