The full 2004-2005 report (PDF format) and supporting data are available.

The facts:

By rank, the total compensations of UO full, associate and assistant professors now stand at 82.5, 87.3 and 92 percent relative to our comparators. If salary alone is used as a comparator, the discrepancy is larger, with salary ratios of 77.3, 80.3, 85.6 percent versus our peer average. Comparator institutions: U Michigan, UC Santa Barbara, U Virginia, U Iowa, U Indiana, U Colorado, U Washington.

At the current status quo, an assistant professor choosing a job offer at UO over one of our comparators would forgo (on average) over $300k in total compensation over their career. Note that the cost of living in Eugene is neither well above nor well below our comparator average.

Public universities in Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, and other states not known for higher education or high tech economies offer higher faculty salaries than UO. Our current salary levels are similar to those at the University of Mississippi or to the Cal State University campuses (which do not offer PhDs and are not research institutions).

What does this mean?

UO is becoming less and less competitive with other universities in recruiting faculty talent.

Simply stated, the quality of the faculty is the single most important determinant of the quality of the university. Faculty contribute to UO through their research, teaching and service. Successful faculty bring recognition and outside funding to the institution, and create an exciting learning environment in the classroom.

If the faculty compensation problem is not solved, UO will very likely fall in national and international rankings to the level of less distinguished institutions -- a terrible outcome for the people of Oregon in this era of global competition and the knowledge economy.

Comments from the report:

The University of Oregon is facing a faculty compensation crisis. Not only are senior faculty salaries no longer competitive with those at comparator institutions, but department heads are reporting difficulty in hiring new assistant professors at current UO salary levels.

The Deans and Provost may respond that funds are available to offer new assistant professor salaries at AAU-average levels. However, the problem is more complex than this. Many heads are justifiably unwilling to distort their department's salary structure by paying beginning assistant professors more than associate professors. Further, prospective faculty are forward looking and will understand the difficult salary future awaiting them if they accept a position at Oregon. In short, the salary problem has to be addressed at all ranks in order to maintain morale and competitiveness.

We can roughly estimate the cost of improving the current salary situation. An increase in average total faculty compensation of $10k would bring us close to our goal of 95 percent parity. Assuming 600 total UO faculty, this would require an extra $6 million per annum. A combination of funds from increased state support, endowment income and possibly re-allocation of resources from other programs could be used to cover this cost. To take a concrete example, an endowment of $150 million would provide this income, based on the usual assumption of four percent return after inflation. Faculty members should ask whether resources from the ongoing capital campaign (which has already raised half of the targeted $600 million) will be used to improve the salary situation.

The high quality of our research and teaching programs is jeopardized by the dramatic salary gap between UO and our peer institutions. Our identity as a leading research institution is at stake. Improving faculty salaries and restoring UO competitiveness in the market for faculty talent should be the single highest priority of our administration.