Overview
The NSF ADVANCE program lays out four research questions as a framework for universities to document progress towards institutional transformation. One of these questions is, “What is the allocation of resources (salaries, start-up packages, and space) for science and engineering faculty by gender?” The Resource Allocation Committee works to answer this question.
Faculty Salary Study
The AdvanceRIT Resource Allocation Committee directs and oversees a salary gender-equity study of tenure-track faculty from across the university (including those in STEM, SBS, and non-STEM/SBS). The goal is to understand the direct and indirect effects that gender may have on faculty salary. The RAC examines salaries for potential systematic differences:
- Discipline
- Rank
- Time in Rank
- Terminal Degree
- Benchmark Salary (based on discipline/rank)
- Overall Performance Rating (not separate performance ratings in teaching, research, or service)
Does NOT account directly for scholarships quantity or quality, teaching evaluations, workload portfolio, experience prior to RIT, etc.
Tenured and Pre-Tenure faculty only, excludes deans and associate deans, endowed chairs
Photots from Let's Talk Money: Being Your Own Informed Advocate event
Process
Data:
- Annual salary after annual merit review and market adjustments for approximately 700 T-TT RIT faculty.
External Consultant: Center for Higher Education at Ohio University, hired in the first year of RAC (2015) through transparent Request for Proposal (RFP) process
- RIT Human Resources/Ohio University protocol for data exchange
- Preprocessing of data
- RAC only saw aggregate results
Statistical Methodology:
- Regression model to observe effects of independent variables in explaining salary
Journey Has Just Begun
Dissemination
- Executive Summary of findings emailed to all faculty; Presentation emailed to Deans
- Open campus presentations; Some colleges have requested presentations
- RAC poster has been developed
- Salary workshop offered in 2018 by AdvanceRIT and Human Resources
Moving Forward
- Engage more faculty in the dialogue
- Continue analyses with more complex models
Committee Members:

Co-Chair: Kit Mayberry

Kathryn Schmitz

Christine Licata

Rich Dirmyer

Judy Bender

Joan Graham

Carol Marchetti

Pengcheng Shi
