The Journal

Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

Webster University's full-time faculty members are paid less than their counterparts at comparable universities in the St. Louis area according to nationwide statistics published by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The most striking difference is pay for full-time professors. Last year, Webster's median salary lagged more than $20,000 behind that of St. Louis University and more than $10,000 behind that of the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Associate and assistant professors receive between $5,000 and $10,000 more annually at UMSL and SLU.

Webster has four types of professors. Full, associate and assistant professors are on a faculty line, while adjunct professors are part-time. A faculty line means professors can move up in pay scale and rank.

Some Webster faculty said the numbers don't tell the
whole story.

"I'm always hesitant when people are looking at raw numbers, if you're just looking at dollars versus dollars, said Bill Lynch, president of the Faculty Senate. "Because that's dollars out of context, it will probably give you an incomplete and, perhaps, at times an inaccurate picture."

The correct way to view these differences, said associate international relations professor Kelly-Kate Pease, is in the context of Webster's other benefits, such as small class sizes, good benefit packages and global standing.

"Money isn't everything," said Pease. "My specialty is international relations. It was a unique position at Webster; in a global way, it was attractive."

Pease was not alone in her assessment of Webster's benefits. Adjunct professor Mary Ferguson teaches at Webster and UMSL and said that Webster offers her more in terms of chances to network with other faculty. When she suggested to UMSL administration that they hold faculty meetings like those she had attended at Webster, she said she was turned down.

Lynch said that Webster's uniqueness helps to compensate for any salary shortfalls.

"Many people come to Webster and have the option of going to places where the salary would be higher, and yet we choose to stay," said Lynch. "So unless they're putting something in the Kool-Aid, we're staying here because there's something truly unique and special about this institution."

The degree to which individual faculty members might benefit financially from moving to another university depends largely upon their field of study. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that Webster professors in the areas of economics, political science and legal studies are earning less than the average annual income of their counterparts in the St. Louis area. Professors of art, music and history, on the other hand, are likely to make more at Webster.

In addition, most professors earn more at Webster than at Fontbonne University, where median salaries lag behind $1,000 to $5,000 annually, or at Maryville University, where full-time professors make almost $10,000 less annually. Assistant professors, however, stand to make more at almost any other area school with the exception of Fontbonne and Missouri Baptist University.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools