New Study Plans to Dig Deeper Into Faculty Salary Disparities

Provost Robert Shelton announced the process for addressing faculty salary gaps by gender and by race at the UNC Board of Trustees' University Affairs Committee meeting Wednesday.

An original study was presented to the Faculty Council on Nov. 3. It now is being considered a preliminary report and will be used to determine further action, Shelton said. The first study examined numerous factors contributing to salary disparities, such as levels of qualification, time at UNC and a professor's rank.

But Shelton said the study did not include two key variables: productivity, such as the number of books and papers published, and quality, such as outside recognition and awards.

Shelton said these unexamined factors are the primary determinants of whether salaries will be altered next year.

Individual departments or divisions, depending on their sizes, now will break down the study's results within their sections. This deeper analysis will provide information as to where discrepancies lie.

But Shelton made it clear in an interview Sunday that UNC might not have any discrepancies between men and women once other factors were controlled.

The original study could not explain 15 percent to 25 percent of the pay discrepancy. Shelton said he hoped it would be explained by the additional analysis.

Faculty Council Chairwoman Sue Estroff urged a quick remedy to this problem. "There is a sense of unease and understandable concern on the part of the faculty about what will happen next," she said.

But Estroff also said she knew this was not a decision that could be rushed.

Shelton said he hopes members from the departments or divisions will be able to provide general profiles for professors with varying qualifications before the end of this semester.

They will determine a standard of how much they think a professor should earn in each case and then look at where individuals who have those qualifications actually fall.

These general profiles will eliminate race and gender variables, Shelton said.

Estroff agreed with this part of the process, saying there needs to be agreement among all faculty on salary criteria.

Large divisions such as the College of Arts and Sciences already have begun examinations.

Beginning next semester, deans will work with department chairmen to identify any individual whose salary stands out as falling behind the majority and cannot be explained legitimately.

Those cases, as well as other recommendations, will be reported to the provost for appeals and for discussion.

Shelton said he is confident that deans will complete this task by March, and a decision for future action will be made by the end of the academic year.

Any approved changes in salary could be put into effect as early as July 1 -- the start of the next fiscal year.

But Shelton hesitated to address where additional money will come from if unfair discrepancies are found among faculty salaries.

"If there are discrepancies, the bottom line is that we have to change them," he said. "I'm not sure where the money will come from ... but if salaries reveal to be unfair, the money will have to come from somewhere."

Estroff said that there are three steps that must be taken -- recognition, remedy and prevention -- and that right now, UNC is in the middle of step one.

The senior administrative positions of chancellor, dean, vice chancellor, provost, associate provost and directors of major centers or institutes are not a part of the examination.

Staff Writer Meredith Craig

contributed to this article.

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.