Weekly Briefing: Huge Drop in Faculty Pay, AAUP Survey Reports

It is the largest single-year decline in the 50 years since the group has tracked compensation. ADVERTISEMENT [Weekly Briefing Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. Faculty salaries are down. Average full-time faculty salaries dropped by 5 percent in the 2021-22 academic year when adjusted for inflation, according to the American Association of University Professors’ [annual report](. It’s the largest single-year drop in the 50 years that the AAUP has tracked academic wages. The report, released on Wednesday, includes employment data for more than 370,000 full-time and 90,000 part-time faculty members at over 900 colleges, as well as pay data for senior administrators at 522 institutions. It found that while full-time faculty salaries were 2 percent higher than in 2020-21, that was actually a pay cut when adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, college presidents [saw their salaries increase]( by 7 percent in 2021-22, keeping up with inflation. Some institutions said that they expanded their share of tenured professors or that their average salaries went up, but the report cautions against taking this at face value. Those increases could be an effect of laying off adjunct faculty members, who usually earn lower salaries. Inflation is creeping into every corner of the college experience, including sticker price. This week, a 4.25-percent increase for resident undergraduate tuition was proposed to the Iowa Board of Regents. The board will vote on the plan next month, the Des Moines Register [reports](. Similarly, in Michigan, Jackson College is [raising tuition]( by 4.5 percent to keep up with inflation, according to Fox 47 News. And Rutgers University will raise tuition and fees 2.9 percent next year, a rate that’s higher than last year’s increase but well below the inflation rate, NJ.com [reports](. Changes in the economy can quickly affect higher education. The recession of 2008-9 [reshaped the industry]( in the short term — with furloughs and cutbacks on campuses. In the long term, colleges had to re-evaluate their roles in the American economy. It’s still to be seen whether our current bout with inflation will have similar effects on higher education, but for the moment it is changing the pocketbook perspectives of those who are working, or paying, for colleges. [Read Isha Trivedi’s full story here](. ADVERTISEMENT Lagniappe. - Learn. Artists, and other professionals, now [have to present themselves]( not just their work, as commodities on social media. (Real Life) - Read. [This piece]( make you rethink summer vacation. For years, development at tourist beaches and other coastal vacation spots has wreaked havoc on local economies and natural environments. In Waikiki, Hawaii, for example, new buildings hurt the natural flow of sand because of their close construction to the shore. (The Atlantic) - Read (more). Speaking of beaches, [in Nantucket]( a proposal for topless beaches is dividing the community. (The Wall Street Journal) - Listen. Cowboy music. A Bob Dylan cover. [What more could you ask for]( (Spotify) — Fernanda UPCOMING EVENT [Join us August 2-19]( for a virtual professional development program on overcoming the challenges of the department chair role and creating a strategic vision for individual and departmental growth. [Reserve your spot now](. Space is limited. Chronicle Top Reads GENDER EQUITY [Here’s How Title IX Could Change Under Biden’s Proposed Rule]( By Kate Hidalgo Bellows [STORY IMAGE]( The gender-equity regulations would once again upend how colleges handle sexual-misconduct complaints. SPONSOR CONTENT | Amazon Web Services [Solutions & Strategy: The Evolving Role of Tech]( Why University of Notre Dame was well-positioned for the digital disruption. 'ROE' OVERTURNED [Supreme Court Ruling Will Upend Reproductive Rights for College Students and Complicate Medical Training]( By Katherine Mangan [STORY IMAGE]( The overturning of “Roe v. Wade” will frustrate colleges’ efforts to retain students who are pregnant or who have small children. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING [After a Fraught Semester, a University Wrestles With the Meaning of ‘Shared Governance’]( By Isha Trivedi [STORY IMAGE]( A graduate-student strike at Indiana University has divided faculty members and college leaders. ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( Colleges and universities cannot be successful without vibrant and engaged faculties. Now is the time to figure out sustainable ways to recruit, support, and diversify the faculty. 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