Straight talk: Why should donors give to support faculty? Aren’t they paid by the state?
According to the Association of Public Land-grant Universities, faculty salaries at K-State are 15 percent lower than that of other APLU institutions.
Despite the lack of competitive faculty wages, K-State is consistently recognized by entities such as the Princeton Review and American Institute for Economic Research as a stand-out, student-focused university. K-State is ranked No. 1 as having the greatest return on investment in higher education in Kansas by SmartAsset for 2018 and by Money Magazine in 2017. K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine is ranked fourth in the nation’s veterinary schools by nationally published College Magazine, and the College of Agriculture ranks fourth nationally by Niche.com.
How philanthropy supports faculty
Chairs and professorships enable K-State to recruit and retain top-notch faculty by safeguarding funding necessary to keep highly sought-after faculty, which helps to attract outstanding students. These faculty are known to put funds from their award back into supporting their students’ academic experience and toward equipping their classroom and laboratory.
- More than $12 million was donated to create new endowed chairs and professorships at K-State in FY18.
- The work of 75+ K-State faculty are supported by endowed chairs or professorships.
- Endowed chairs and professorships enable instructors and researchers to hire student assistants who help forward research goals while gaining valuable academic and professional experience.
- Endowed faculty often fund student travel to conferences and academic networking opportunities so students are exposed to a depth of experience and understanding beyond their campus learning and advance their own research and professional careers.
- Heightened faculty accomplishment through endowed faculty positions advances the university toward its goal of becoming a top 50 public research university by 2025.
“This is a very important issue that I see and hear colleagues dealing with all over the country. The steady decline in salaries is gutting our education system by subtly encouraging committed and talented faculty to other sectors and universities for better pay. Faculty have to make these decisions if they expect to survive.” – April Petillo, assistant professor, American ethnic studies
