Pay and Performance in the University: An Examination of Faculty Salaries

Abstract

With more attention on productivity in higher education has come a need for improved conceptualizations and policies relating to faculty salaries. Focusing on research universities, this essay examines historical patterns in salaries, recent evidence on salaries, the tenuous connections between salaries and performance, and some thoughts on the role of salaries in effective academic reward systems. The essay's goal is to help leaders craft salary policies that improve productivity in their institutions.