University of North Carolina plans second study to examine faculty salary disparities
The Daily Tar Heel
February 14, 2011
Following up on a faculty salary equity study conducted on race and gender nine years ago, the University is preparing for another campus-wide review that will examine a wider variety of factors.
Laurie McNeil, chairwoman of the committee, said the survey will aim to broaden the categories reviewed to gauge salary disparities, including the time it takes to reach tenure and promotion and the quality of start-up packages for new faculty.
“The provost has specifically asked us to see how we have progressed since the 2002 study, to specifically make that comparison, and to make recommendations going forward to keep inequities from arising in the future,” McNeil said.
The current committee is charged not only with creating a more comprehensive study, but also with finding a realistic way to annually track salary disparities, said Ron Strauss, executive associate provost.
“There have been statistical looks at it, but the problem is it takes a lot of effort to know exactly what to measure and how to track this, and I don’t think that we’ve done that as effectively and consistently as we could have,” Strauss said.