Demand leads to higher salaries

By Ellis Cross

  Since President Lyndon B. Johnsonís administration the Music Professor and Chair Matt Gilmore has worked diligently to get tenure and promotions and worked his way to the top of the heap, only to be topped by a newly hired professor with full tenure and a $5,000 higher salary than his.      In the last two years students have been offered answers for high turnover of faculty from the remaining administration. Last yearís pitch was that the recent success of Missouri Western becoming a university has made every one on staff look like a member of a winning team and this has lent itself to heavy recruitment of Westernís faculty and administrative staff.   Heavy recruitment often includes higher pay. Just how does Western stack up in comparison to other universities in Missouri and the nation? Could some of the vacancies be coming from the allure of greener pastures?   Westerns top paid full professor is in the business department. The professor acquired top salary at the start of her career including automatic tenure at Western. She is presently earning $92,010 yearly. The next highest business full professor earns $72,507 annually.    The top three earners in the category of associate professors at Western are also from the business department. One of them is a new hire and one is on their third year. In the category of assistant professors, the business department also has the top three earners and each is newly hired.   The problem is, according to Dean of Professional Studies Steve Estes, ìWe have left the college or local community and have  entered the university or national community which offers much greater salaries.î The national average for business full professors is $98,384 according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.   In contrast the average business full professor at Western earns $75,803 per year.  With the mean at $68,000 for the state level and $98,984 for the national, it becomes obvious that we have definitely entered a new playing field. The lowest earning full professor at any department at Western is at $56,569 and is working full time.   ìWe are trying to achieve a balance between being able to attract good people, without causing a deterioration of morale in current staff.î Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Joseph Bragin said, ìThis is a major problem. We are trying to get incomes up by promotions and awards.  We need to get the bottom salaries up.î   ìLow morale has caused vacancies in the department,î Associate Professor Dr. Dale Kruger of the Business Department said. ìI canít recall all of the people we have lost in the past two years.   In the past four years the business department has had to hire six new professors. Estes said, ìIn every case, every professor we have had to replace has been replaced with a better professor. They were better in the area of scholarship having recently published an article or book.î  There used to be a policy, which allowed the administration to exceed the salary formula set by the salary committee. The policy allowed an additional 30 percent to be added to the formula to get top-notch professors in high demand disciplines.  ìThis policy was tying the hands of administration who began to abandon the policy in 2007,î Jimm MacGreggor, associate professor and past salary committee chair said. The salary committee took action to remove the policy and reported the removal of the policy in their report dated April 5, 2007. This action completely removes all limits as to how high the salaries could go.  Bragin said, ìIím not going to go overboard. Iím not willing to pay what some of these candidates require.î  While Western is stretching to pay the new salaries the university is still offering salaries in line with other similarly sized Missouri schools. If you consult The Chronicle of Higher Education, Missouri Western is not the average but the mean to the other Missouri IIB classified universities. This mean position is considering all full professors regardless of discipline.  ìPresident James Scanlon is very proud of that fact,î MacGregor said.   Many disciplines are seeking higher accreditation, which will increase Westernís $40 million budget because of the higher salaries, over time.  If this trend continues, students may have to pay more tuition.   To put it bluntly Estes said, ìWhen it comes to the amount of current tuition versus the university level education being delivered, you may have gotten all of the blood out of that turnip.î  The administration is walking a tight rope balancing their desire to have a top-notch university and having to increase salaries and possibly tuition.  ìWe have made excellent appointments to these open positions,î Bragin said. ìThese are top-rank people, their salaries are not cheap, but they are not out of sight.î