Salaries in higher education sky-rocket this year
According to statistics from the College and University Association for Human Resources (CUAHR), median salaries for higher education teachers and administrators rose 3.3 percent for the 2004-2005 academic year - higher than the 2.5 percent growth experienced in the 2003-2004 acadeic year. The rise in salary also surpassed inflation for the eigth year in a row.
"My feeling is that the survey is reflecting the economic recovery we've been experiencing since last year," Maria Rodriguez-Calcagno, a senior research associate at CUAHR, said to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The highest paid administrators, according to the survey, are Deans of Medicine, with a median salary of $326,173. Assistant registrars receive the least median pay, at $37,359.
The CUAHR survey also compared public and private institutions. Salaries at private institutions rose at a slightly higher rate than those at public institutions.
University of Frankfurt professor accused of various misconducts
Former Professor of Anthropology Reiner Protsch von Zieten, of the University of Frankfurt, Germany, falsified data, plagiarized, and tried to sell ape skulls belonging to the university, according to a report by the commission to investigate Protsch von Zieten.
The commission, composed of administrators from the University of Frankfurt, began the investigation almost a year ago, after allegations surfaced that Zieten had tried to sell the collection of skulls to a private American buyer for $65,000. The skulls were part of his research project on Neanderthals.
Protsch von Zieten did not speak publicly after the most recent allegations, but he did assert his innocence and noted that the skulls were his to sell. He resigned from his post at the University almost a month ago.
"I know of a number of clear cases of falsification," Sally McBrearty, a colleague of Protsch von Zieten's, said to the Chronicle. "I would say that this is not a surprise to anyone."
OSU professor accused of blatant plagiarism
Oklahoma State University (OSU) officials forced geography professor George Carney to step down after an investigation confirmed reports that Carney had plagiarized multiple times throughout his career at the university.
According to reports, Carney had taken passages from 36 authors as his own, including multiple occasions in which he copied whole paragraphs word for word, since his hiring at OSU in 1972.
OSU administrators sent Carney a letter informing him he would no longer be able to teach, and would lose his title of "regent" professor, which is given to faculty members who have received national recognition.
Carney has not yet responded to allegations. He has 15 days to appeal the letter. A secretary in the geography department, however, said that he had stopped teaching and was "in the process of retiring," according to the Chronicle.
-- Compiled by Brian McPartland from the Chronicle of Higher Education
