A majority of 2005-06 University Park faculty salaries are higher than other institutions in the Association of American Universities Data Exchange (AAUDE), according to a report released at Tuesday's University Faculty Senate meeting.

The report, released by the Senate Committee on Faculty Benefits, showed that, compared with AAUDE averages, University Park faculty salaries were lower for only 10 of the 35 University Park colleges for which data was available.

The 2005-06 median salary for professors at University Park is $105,120, for associate professors, $74,088, and for assistant professors, $64,008. These

averages have increased between 31 and 73 percent since 1995-96.

The median salary for professors at Commonwealth Campuses is $85,590, for associate professors, $66,888, and for assistant professors, $55,035.

The report said Penn State faculty salaries have greatly increased in recent years compared to the AAUDE average salaries, but for the university to remain competitive, faculty salaries for several University Park colleges and Commonwealth Campuses still need to be increased.

Senate Chairman Jamie Myers said the compounding salary increase might be due in part to the rising rates of inflation. He said Penn State has provided a steady, small salary increase each year rather than the erratic, unpredictable salary rates some institutions offer.

Myers said there are three categories that make up the degree of salary increase: base increase, percent increase for the President's Excellence Fund and the salary equity fund. These percentages usually add up to the 3.5 percent annual increase the university strives to offer each year, Myers said.

This percentage is applied to the college or campus's base salary, so if a college starts out with a higher salary, it will receive more each year than another college of a lower salary.

The total median salary for men at University Park is $106,272, while the median salary for women is $99,450. Of the 10 colleges that listed data for men and women's salaries, women receive higher salaries for four of them and men had higher salaries for the remaining six.

Peggy Lorah, director for the Center for Women Students, said there is clearly a difference between the salaries of men and women of comparable positions, and people are working to fix that, but she said she was not familiar enough with the topic to make an informed opinion.

History professor Sally McMurry said this gap may exist because women are typically concentrated in colleges where salaries are lower, like the College of Health and Human Development, versus colleges where men tend to be concentrated, like the Smeal College of Business or the College of Engineering.

McMurry also said that there are fewer professors who are women; those who are, are in the earlier stages of their career.

"It takes a long time to win your ranks," she said.

Myers said there is really no good reason for the gap being so large between University Park salaries and Commonwealth Campus salaries. He had no comment for the difference in men's and women's salaries.

Penn State Abington, Beaver and Altoona did not respond for comment by press time yesterday. Council of Commonwealth Student Governments (CCSG) President Kathleen Streaker had no comment.