Florida University Faculty Compensation: Market Competitive or Not?

The most important asset of any organization is its people (Danish & Usman,
2010). Whatever the market segment, they are the driving force behind creating and
delivering on the organization’s strategic and financial objectives. The ability to attract,
retain and motivate the necessary workforce, through use of financial rewards, is a main
determinant in the degree to which these objectives are met (Fong & Tosi, 2007; Gomez-
Mejia & Balkin, 1992b; Newman, Gerhart, & Milkovich, 2016). While there are many
approaches to pay strategy, a key aspect, and the focus of this dissertation, is the market
positioning of cash compensation. Specifically examined was the stated policy narrative
of market positioning compared to actual pay practice.
While compensation practices in the private sector have received significant
research attention, much less focus has been given to pay in academia. This work seeks
to address this apparent gap and extend our knowledge in this area. Utilizing faculty pay at Florida’s ten major public universities, this dissertation analyzes consistency between
the narrative and practice at the levels of university, department, rank, size and region.
The findings demonstrated a significant difference between pay and university but
inconsistencies across all levels with the stated narrative. Additionally, the results
indicate a widening gap between actual pay and the market average between the 2005-
2006 academic year to present.