N O T I C E I N T H I S I S S U E Don’t forget to spring forward at We need to have new conversations the end of spring break. Daylight about race, two Stanford professors Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. on say.....................................................7 Sunday, March 13. A traveling exhibit looks at the real science and medicine in the U N I V E R S I T Y “Harry Potter” books.......................8 TIMES VOLUME 43 • NUMBER 13 MARCH 3, 2011 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH Chancellor’s Award for Staff for Excellence in Service to the University Kazi Islam David W. Nanz Laurie A. Sallows Dorothy Shallenberger Kathleen Sidorovich Chancellor’s Award for Staff for Excellence in Service to the Community James P. Gallagher Christine E. Miller Bryan M.Valentine Cricket Wencil-Tracey Chancellor’s Distinguished Chancellor’s Public Service Award awards announced Marie R. Baldisseri Rory Cooper Laurence Glasco See pages 4 & 5, 9-12 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award Graham F. Hatfull Mary Margaret Kerr Matthew R. Luderer John M. O’Donnell Sanjeev G. Shroff Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award Jeremy Levy Mary L. Marazita John D. Norton Edouard Machery Alexander Star 1 U N I V E R S I T Y TIMES U N I V E R S I T Y S E N A T E MM AA TT TT EE R R S S / /Nathan John J.Hershey Baker Faculty salaries & gender: A nagging gap Women faculty at Pitt continue to question whether the salary difference between male and female faculty members is due to gender discrimination (Faculty Assembly minutes, Sept. 7, 2010; University Times article, Jan. 6, 2011). As shown in the table below, Pitt male full professors in 2009-10 averaged $131,400 for an adjusted nine-month contract, while females averaged $118,200 for a female-to-male salary ratio of 0.900. Male associate profes- sors averaged $86,300; females $81,100 (0.940). Male assistant professors averaged $74,300; females $66,500 (0.895). Professor Associate Professor Assistant Professor Male Female Ratio Male Female Ratio Male Female Ratio Pitt* $131,400 $118,200 0.900 $86,300 $81,100 0.940 $74,300 $66,500 0.895 Public* Cat. I $119,255 $107,918 0.905 $82,675 $76,958 0.931 $71,217 $65,820 0.924 Public 4-yr. Title IV** $108,104 $ 95,942 0.887 $77,873 $72,867 0.936 $65,786 $61,578 0.936 * Source: American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Academe, March-April 2010. **Source: November 2010 report by the National Center for Education Statistics, “Employees in Postsec- ondary Institutions, Fall 2009, and Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Staff, 2009-10.” The table shows a similar gender gap for all public Category I (doctoral) institutions and all public four-year Title IV degree- granting institutions in the United State. Thus, the gender gap in average faculty salaries is not specific to Pitt. Is it due to ingrained American cultural bias? Or are there are other reasons for it? The gender gap within ranks has been attributed to several fac- tors, the most important being differences in salaries and gender distribution for different academic fields (University Times, May 17, In a Feb. 25 photo, above left, Tom Harper checks on “Tatiana,” a titan arum that is preparing to bloom for the first time in a Pitt greenhouse. Harper, who manages the Department of Biologi- 2007, and “AAUP Faculty Gender Equity Indicators 2006” report). cal Sciences’ microscopy and imaging facility, has been documenting the plant’s rapid progress Information about faculty salaries in different fields at Pitt is pub- in photos that will be posted on the greenhouse web page later this month. The plant’s speedy lished annually in a report to the Senate budget policies committee growth is evident in a March 1 photo, above right, in which Tatiana has grown more than a foot taller than the thermostat on the greenhouse wall. that lists mean and median faculty salaries in each of the University’s responsibility centers (schools). This clearly shows large differences Photos by Kimberly K. Barlow in different fields(University Times, May 13, 2010). Nationally, information about gender distribution among academic fields is or two. published periodically by the National Academy of Sciences and A HUGE event at The event is a bit of a mixed the AAUP. These sources show proportionately more men than blessing. The titan arum’s other women in higher-paying fields such as engineering, business, law nickname is carrion flower. When and health sciences, and proportionately more women than men Pitt’s greenhouse the bloom opens, it will reek of in lower-paying fields such as the humanities. rotting flesh — the plant’s way of An often-cited but misleading and inaccurate indicator of rare event is in progress glass since the titan arum was dis- enticing the carrion beetles and gender salary inequity is the ratio of the average salary for all in the University’s green- covered in the late 1800s. flesh flies that pollinate it. women versus all men faculty for all faculty ranks. For all public Ahouse in Langley Hall. An And when the titan arum does “One big inflorescence every Category I schools, these salaries were $73,452 for women faculty amorphophallus titanum is prepar- flower, its bloom is … well, titanic. three-five years means the like- versus $93,112 for men faculty (March-April, 2010 Academe). The ing to bloom for the first time. While another Indonesian lihood of synchronizing with resulting ratio of 0.789 is much lower than the ratios of the average Blooming is a big thing for the plant, rafflesia arnoldii, has the another plant in bloom at the same salaries for women faculty versus men faculty in the three professor titan arum. Native to the Sumatran distinction as the world’s largest time is rare. They do a lot of work ranks (table above). rainforest, the plants bloom just flower, the titan arum is the plant to attract their pollinators,” York But this figure is not corrected for the fact that there are once every three-five years in the with the world’s largest inflores- added, noting that the titan arum many more men than women in the higher salary ranks and more wild, and even less frequently in cence, or cluster of flowers. Its will produce heat, warming itself women than men in the lower ranks. For example, in fall 2009, greenhouses. bloom consists of a maroon and to approximately human body there were 379 male professors and 290 male associate profes- According to Pitt’s plant green skirt-like spathe surround- temperature to help volatilize the sors at Pitt versus 117 female professors and 144 female associate growth facilities manager Ellen ing a tall central spadix, which sulfur compounds that produce its professors. In contrast, there were 256 female assistant professors York, there have been fewer than contains rings of male and female characteristic and nauseating odor. and 66 female instructors versus 226 male assistant professors and 200 documented bloomings under flowers near its base. (Several members of the arum 23 male instructors. These different proportions give a low skew One of a pair of titan arums at family — including a pungent local to the average salary ratio for all women versus all men faculty. Pitt, the budding Tatiana (named relative, the skunk cabbage — have On May 4, 2007, then-Vice Provost Patricia Beeson gave a for the patron saint of students, as similar thermogenic ability, York public presentation on gender salary differences at Pitt to the well as for the taxonomic allitera- noted.) Senate budget policies committee based on fall 2006 AAUP salaries tion) could reach 7 feet tall in full With no carrion beetles or (University Times, May 17, 2007). It identified the large number of bloom. flesh flies nearby, York said she will women hires in recent years, the gender makeup of the academic U N I V E R S I T Y York received the titan arums collect and freeze some pollen and ranks, the gender breakdown by school and academic discipline and — offspring of the University will attempt to help Tatiana self- the gender breakdown by tenure/tenure stream versus non-tenure TIMES of Wisconsin-Madison’s “Big pollinate in hopes of producing stream as factors accounting for most of the gap at that time. When EDITOR Bucky” — as 5-inch-tall seedlings seeds that can be shared. men and women faculty in the same school, discipline and rank with N. J. Brown 412/624-1373 nearly a decade ago at a national While blooming titan arums comparable tenure status, length of service and work record were [email protected] meeting of the Association of Edu- have drawn crowds at public compared, significant gender salary inequities were not observed. WRITERS cation and Research Greenhouse greenhouses and conservatories, Pitt has continued to close the average salary ratio gap since the Curators. Tatiana’s big day will come in 2007 study. At that time, the female-to-male average salary ratios Kimberly K. Barlow 412/624-1379 [email protected] The titan arum’s thick leaf the relative privacy of her hot were 0.879 for professors, 0.924 for associate professors and 0.882 stalks are 5-7 feet tall. While and humid greenhouse home in assistant professors. As the table shows, the fall 2009 ratios were Peter Hart 412/624-1374 Tatiana’s non-blooming sibling Clapp Hall, which is not open to 0.900, 0.940 and 0.895, respectively.