Gallaudet severely underpays its faculty while staff and administrators are paid fairly for Washington, DC

The Gallaudet AAUP analyzed faculty, staff, and administrator salaries. Gallaudet pays staff and administrators competitively for the Washington, DC metro area. However, the University pays faculty 20% less than our peers. We urge the Gallaudet administration to correct this salary gap and slow the exodus of our difficult-to-replace, bilingual faculty leaving for competing institutions.

Staff salaries are average, and administrator salaries 3% above average for Washington, DC. However, faculty salaries are 20% lower than average, even though our faculty are uniquely qualified because we must be bilingual. The results of this analysis are consistent with our earlier analyses which showed that Gallaudet spends less on faculty and more on staff and administration than comparable institutions, and Gallaudet underpays its faculty, especially senior faculty.

Median Salaries of Faculty, Staff, and Administrators at Gallaudet vs. Washington, DC Area Institutions¹

	N	faculty	staff	admin
Washington, DC Area Institutions	7	$108,300	$77,500	$135,000
Gallaudet University	1	$90,500	$77,800	$139,400
		-20%	<+1%	+3%

We urge the Gallaudet administration to correct the faculty salary gap. The administration could award merit increases (MIs) and adjust individual salaries. Gallaudet needs competitive faculty salaries to recruit, retain, and motivate the bilingual faculty members who are drawing students to Gallaudet. Without exemplary faculty and strong academic programs, students might not come to Gallaudet.

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The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) defends academic freedom, promotes shared governance, and advances the economic security of faculty. The Gallaudet AAUP chapter is a member of Local 6741 of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFL-CIO.

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1.  Data for 2021 were obtained from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), maintained by the U.S. Department of Education, and from the AAUP Faculty Compensation Survey. Institutions that participate in Title IV federal student financial aid programs are required to report data to IPEDS annually. IPEDS provides definitions for faculty, staff (non-instructional staff), and admin (administrative staff). Median salaries were rounded to the nearest $100 and percentages to the nearest 1%.