University of Miami Reports Highest Florida Professor Pay

April 10, 2012 | 11:38 AM

By John O'Connor

eggrollstan / Flickr

The University of Miami has the highest professor pay in the state, according to Chronicle of Higher Education data.

The University of Miami has the highest-paid professors among Florida’s universities and colleges, according to data complied by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Hurricane instructors are paid an average of $140,800 for the 2011-2012 school year.

More interesting is the number two school on the list: The University of South Florida Polytechnic. Professors at the Lakeland school earn $124,400 on average, or $17,200 more than the average professor at the flagship Tampa campus.

University of South Florida at St. Petersburg professors also earn more than their colleagues at the Tampa campus.

Nova Southeastern University, the University of Florida and the University of Central Florida round out the top five average salaries.

Harvard University led the nation with an average professor salary of $198,000.

Bethune-Cookman University had the lowest average salary reported among Florida schools at $68,300.

Check out the Chronicle of Education’s data here.

What do you think of professor pay in Florida?

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of the University of Central Florida.

Comments

UCFKnight

Please note that it is “The University of Central Florida,” unless you’re referring to Central Florida College, http://www.cf.edu/ (but I did not think so). Thank you!
- StateImpactJOC
  
  Corrected. Thanks for pointing that out.
Political Science Prof

The salaries listed are the salaries for full professors, the highest rank in the academic hierarchy and reached only after many years of service. Assistant professors, the lowest tenure track rank, earn significantly less, not to mention instructors. The figures should further be seen in the light of the character of the university. The University of Miami has a medical school. In order to retain faculty and not loose them to the private sector. This also explains the higher income for the University of South Florida Polytechnic faculty, which surely consists of many engineers for whom the private sector is always an attractive alternative to the grind of academia.
- Read N. Think
  
  Thank you for the comments, Professor! I was surprised that such insight wasn’t part of the article…isn’t this site affiliated with NPR?? I thought NPR had a high journalistic standard. This kind of data is almost useless. It doesn’t surprise me at all that private institutions and newer institutions have somewhat higher salaries for full professors. As a native Floridian educated at public schools, we will never have a true top-tier institution here unless an existing one decides to open a branch campus. This bargain-basement state will never fund education adequately, at any level. Even if it appears that funds are going to public education, the powers that be manage to bleed money off into the private sector with no accountability. I remember when the State library in Tallahassee was given to Nova…an appalling turn of events. If it had to be shuttered to save money, the resources should have been moved to a State institution. We’re too busy paving paradise to worry about education here in Floriduh! Go Gators!
- StateImpactJOC
  
  Thanks for the comment. We responded here: http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/04/13/feedback-loop-responding-to-critics-about-professor-pay/
Business Prof

Political Science Prof is correct. The salary data reported by O’Connor are useless. Even worse, it seems designed to inflame outrage among Florida citizens/taxpayers and our conservative state legislators about the inflated salaries of professors at public universities in Florida. At USF Polytechnic the data on professors’ salaries refer to 6-8 people, some of whom are administators with full-professor rank. I see that this story has now been ‘picked up’ by WUSF, one of the Florida NPR affiliates that sponsors the StateImpact Florida project. I expected more from our NPR affiliate, which is why I (at least up till now!) have contributed to WUSF every year.
- StateImpactJOC
  
  Thanks for the comment. We responded here: http://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2012/04/13/feedback-loop-responding-to-critics-about-professor-pay/

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