For the first time in nearly 50 years, Syracuse University declined to provide the data used in compiling the Committee Z Report — a public record of the average faculty member’s salary in each SU college.

The annual report is distributed by SU’s American Association of University Professors chapter, which serves to represent and protect the rights of faculty members. Each year, SU’s AAUP receives salary data from the university’s budget office and then releases the report in the spring.

But on March 18, the chapter received an email from the university’s budget office stating that their request for the data “was being reviewed,” said Pat Cihon, president of SU’s AAUP. The university never announced any changes in policy and there was no indication that previous Committee Z Reports created any problems for the university, Cihon wrote in an April 14 letter to Chancellor Kent Syverud.

The chapter didn’t learn why their requests were denied or who was conducting the review until almost two months later, when Cihon received a reply from Syverud stating that the university would not participate in the AAUP’s report due to legal concerns.

“As a law school dean, I am acutely aware of an antitrust action brought by the Justice Department regarding the sharing of law faculty salaries among law deans,” Syverud said in the June 6 letter. “So I understand the stakes and the potential consequences in this domain.”

Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs, said in an email that the university wants to ensure that it won’t be placed at a risk of liability by participating in the chapter’s report. The Committee Z Report compares faculty salaries by college, gender in each college, percent change in salaries per year and several other factors. It does not break each college down to department salaries or into individual faculty members.

SU also declined to participate in the AAUP’s national survey, which compares salaries across various higher education institutions, for the same liability concerns, Cihon said.

“They’re (the national survey) actually even less antitrust because the national AAUP study looks like an overview,” Cihon said. “So it’s much more difficult to break down the data to find out how much we pay English professors, law professors, etc.”

By refusing to release the faculty salary data, Cihon said it could raise concerns about a lack of transparency among the new administration. He pointed to an existing communication struggle between faculty members and the administration regarding the University Senate Budget Committee.

At the last University Senate meeting of the semester, the Budget Committee spoke about its struggle to receive reports and resolve questions posed to the University Office for Budget and Planning.

“During the past semester, we have not had access to these officers. Consequently, our current report is drawn from data and information obtained previously,” according to a transcript from the meeting. “We have been in conversation with Chancellor Syverud about how to proceed going forward so that the Budget Committee has appropriate access to information and support.”

Syverud said in the June 6 letter that he will issue a decision on the AAUP matter after he meets with the Board of Trustees and understands, “the law relative to sharing of university-wide faculty salaries as well as the potential risks.” He added that he expects the university’s position will be finalized this fall.

Published on August 25, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Annie: apalme05@syr.edu