Mass. community college faculty salaries lagging behind other states, union study says
Photo | Grant Welker
Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester
Massachusetts trails other states in public higher education faculty salaries, when adjusted for the cost of living here, according to a new Massachusetts Teachers Association report that the union is using as a lobbying tool.
"The results did not surprise me, but that doesn't mean we weren't deeply dissatisfied with the current information," said Max Page, president of the MTA. "It's worse at the community colleges. There's a gap of around $40,000 between California community college faculty and Massachusetts community colleges, and those are both two of the highest cost states. I would say the starkness of that gap is striking."
The MTA commissioned the report from ASA Research as part of their campaign for legislation (H 1260 / S 816) that aims to help students attend public higher education in Massachusetts without incurring student debt and proposes significant new investments in campuses, including in faculty salaries. That bill remains before the Joint Committee On Higher Education.
The study compared Massachusetts to its bordering states and "peer" states like California, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
In the 2021-2022 school year, Massachusetts was average faculty salaries at Massachusetts' community colleges, state universities and larger university systems were among the lowest of the states examined by researchers.
The Bay State ranked last at an average $68,324 in community college salaries, adjusted for cost of living. The next lowest was Vermont, which paid its community college faculty an average $83,612. Michigan paid the highest average salary of $137,311 for its community college educators.
"There are many positions that go unfilled, and for our community colleges especially, they just can't hire. I believe Berkshire Community College has been trying to hire three full-time professors over the past several years and just hasn't been able to hire anyone, because the pay is simply too low to recruit someone to those positions," Page said.
Massachusetts was also in last among the states the MTA chose for to compare salaries at public university systems. At the University of Massachusetts, faculty made an average $110,291 in the 2021-2022 academic year, the report says. Michigan leads in this area, where their faculty makes an average $168,219, adjusted for cost of living.
Only at state universities is Massachusetts not the lowest on the list for faculty salaries. Vermont takes that spot in the report, paying its faculty $83,195, compared to Massachusetts' $87,055.
Page said professors, who have to undergo extensive schooling to be qualified to teach higher education, are turning to other states, private universities or other fields altogether.
For academics in math and science, there are opportunities in the private sector outside of higher education that will pay more, he said. And with so many well-known private universities in Massachusetts, there are often other opportunities for professors.
The Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey have made recent investments to make higher education more affordable, including expanding financial aid and making community college free for everyone above the age of 25 without a college degree.
"The Legislature and the governor are trying to make college more accessible," Page said, "but if we have more students going and we can't hire faculty, then we can't provide students with the education they deserve."
Administrators and coaches at UMass are consistently among the highest paid public employees in the state every year, though professors are rarely among them.
Almost 18 percent of the state payroll in 2023, $1.66 billion, went to UMass, according to data available through the state comptroller's office, and the UMass Amherst men's basketball coach Frank Martin was the state's top earner last year at $1.66 million.
The 22 highest earners on the state's payroll all work for the university system, including chancellors, department heads, and UMass President Marty Meehan as the seventh highest earner.
Professor of medicine Katherine Fitzgerald, who works for the Division of Infectious Disease at the UMass Medical School, was the highest paid professor at UMass -- and 15th highest paid public employee in the state -- bringing in $554,346.79 last year.
The MTA sent its study to the Board of Higher Education, citing the study's "alarming data" and imploring Chair Chris Gabrieli to join the union in advocating for investments in public higher education to close Massachusetts' wage gaps with other states.
The Department of Higher Education said it was reviewing the MTA's letter.
"The life-changing opportunities that faculty bring to students remain top of mind throughout our contract negotiations, which are currently underway. We look forward to continuing this dialogue with MTA," a department spokeswoman said.
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