Professors’ salaries increased for the third straight year in 2013-2014. From 2009-2010 to 2010-2011, the College froze salaries in response to a 17 percent loss in the endowment during the recession.
Additionally, the College has reinstated the 4-5-6 policy for salary increases, which was suspended during the freeze. This policy makes the percentage increase in the amount of money for salary increases at each level of professorship equal to the three-year lagging average of percentage salary increases at the colleges ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in Bowdoin’s 18-school peer group (selected by the Board of Trustees).
Despite the recovery of the endowment, the College had to wait until this year to reinstate its 4-5-6 policy because so many of its peer colleges reduced or froze professor salaries during the recession, which rendered the calculations inapplicable. According to Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd, the policy ensures that Bowdoin can offer competitive salaries.
“It’s important to recognize where our aspirations are in terms of the placement of our faculty compensation relative to our peers,” Judd said.
Bowdoin is 11th among liberal arts colleges in terms of salaries paid to full professors, according to data from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Full professors at Bowdoin now make, on average, $135,067 per year, up from $131,300 last year, according to notes from the faculty meeting on April 7.
The average pay raise for full professors was 2.9 percent, according to the Chronicle.
“We’ve been fortunate because we’ve been able to give reasonable increases but I think for everyone faculty salary increases in the 2 to 3.5 percent range are smaller than the rate of increases of faculty salaries prior to 2008,” said Judd.
Last year, average salaries for associate professors salaries were raised from $94,900 to $96,858, and for assistant professors, from $74,300 to $76,081. Associate professors are tenured, while assistant professors are typically, although not always, on the tenure track.
Bowdoin is ranked 9th and 16th among liberal arts schools for salaries of associate and assistant professors, respectively, according to data from the Chronicle.