Salary charts released at the last Faculty Senate Meeting show that as of fall 2006, the average male professor's salary at University Park is higher than their female counterparts.

However, while the numbers show that men are earning more money overall than women, administrators are skeptical of the salary differences and say that too many factors are involved to assume that only one could cause the discrepancies.

The charts, presented at last month's meeting, show the median earnings for fall 2006 for professors, associate professors and assistant professors. The charts are divided up by colleges, and then again by gender within each college, and also show the average years in rank for men and women.

Senate committee on faculty benefits member Michael Dooris said it's hard to know what to make of the discrepancies because at different levels of teaching there are distinct differences in the amounts of time that men and women have been serving.

"In every one of those cases [where men make more than women], males have more time in rank so that has to be a factor, too," Dooris said.

Cara-Lynne Schengrund, chairwoman of the Senate committee on faculty benefits, agreed.

"Women have come into the pipeline in some of the science colleges a little later," Schengrund said.

Susan Welch, dean of Liberal Arts, said the difference in earnings varies between positions and colleges.

"You have to look at it field by field," Welch said. "The salaries are based on a "per-person average."

The charts also show that as the ranks increase from assistant professors, to associate professors, and then to professor status, the salary gap between men and women appears to grow larger as well.

Schengrund said today's competitive salaries make it so that newer professors' salaries increase faster than the salaries of those who have been here longer.

"It's also based on how well you teach, your research, your publication, [and] your service," Schengrund said.

Vice-Provost of Academic Affairs Blannie Bowen said disciplines are also a factor in the salary discrepancies.

"In some areas where women are more represented than men, you would see just the opposite trend, but it is so dependant upon the field you are in and how long that you have been in the field," Bowen said. "It is too difficult to make definitive conclusions.