Hundreds of Syracuse University women faculty on Tuesday criticized the administration’s handling of salary adjustments in the wake of a December report that found women professors at SU generally earned less than men professors.

The statement, which was published as a spread advertisement in The Daily Orange on Tuesday, came on “Equal Pay Day,” a nationwide movement to bring attention to gender pay gaps. Professors from every school and college at SU signed the statement.

Signatories said in the statement they were pleased the university commissioned the report. But they demanded the salary adjustment process be transparent, systematic and immediate across all schools and colleges. Faculty also urged the university to acknowledge and address the cumulative effects of the historic pay gap.

They expressed concern that deans have been tasked with fixing the pay gap and claimed that two deans have “signaled an unwillingness” to address inequities. It’s unclear which deans the professors were referring to.

“No one dean’s or school’s biases or opinions — whether intentional or unconsciously internalized — should guide the process of addressing these salary inequities,” the statement read.

Some deans on Tuesday pushed back against faculty claims that certain deans don’t want to address the pay gap.

“I understand the frustration of the women faculty about the salary inequities disclosed in last year’s report but I think the university is making a good faith effort to address these concerns, as are the deans,” said Lorraine Branham, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, in an email. “I don’t know any dean that is not committed to doing so.”

Joanna Masingila, dean of the School of Education, said in an email Tuesday afternoon that she hadn’t yet read the statement. But she echoed Branham, saying she believed all deans were working with the provost’s office to address the pay gap.

The faculty salary report, released by a University Senate committee last year, stated that the deans will work with the provost’s office to review and potentially correct salary discrepancies between men and women faculty. LaVonda Reed, associate provost for faculty affairs, said in February that deans are reviewing data to determine salary equity issues and account for faculty contributions through service, teaching, research and other factors.

“We recognize and appreciate that there is a lot of conversation happening around this very important topic,” Reed said in a statement Tuesday.

The Office of Academic Affairs is committing financial resources to fund equity adjustments for the upcoming fiscal and academic year, she added.

Reed said other steps to address inequities include:

• Providing bias training for all deans
• Hiring additional staff in the provost’s office with expertise in diversity, inclusion and women’s issues in academia
• Providing support to promotion, tenure and search committees to help them identify implicit bias

Branham said the provost deserves a “great deal of credit” for tackling the pay gap, which has existed for decades.

“I wish the faculty would give us a chance to do so before criticizing the process,” she said.

Published on April 10, 2018 at 11:17 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18