Faculty Pay Story Didn’t Add Up
* The Sept. 15 article “South O.C. College District Salaries Are State’s Highest” misrepresents the salaries of faculty at Cal State Fullerton.
Your article gives the impression that faculty are paid far more than they actually receive.
In the article, the “average annual pay scale” for full professors is stated as $82,176.
For associate and assistant professors, the reported salaries are $78,408 and $71,376, respectively.
The fact is, according to figures computed on Sept. 23, the average salaries earned by CSU Fullerton faculty are $68,182 for full professors, $55,513 for associate professors and $45,891 for assistant professors. These averages include performance salary step increase awards.
The truth is that salaries of faculty in the California State University system are lower by at least 10%, according to the California Post-Secondary Education Commission, which conducts annual surveys of faculty salaries at comparable institutions in the nation.
Unless salary and other benefits improve, the CSU will continue to have a very difficult time hiring high-quality faculty to replace retiring faculty.
To continue providing the high quality of education for which CSU is known, recruiting high-quality faculty is absolutely necessary.
DIANA GUERIN
G. NANJUNDAPPA
Fullerton chapter
California Faculty Assn.
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