Dr. Sam Minner
LAS VEGAS, NM – The Chronicle of Higher Education listed New Mexico Highlands University as the top institution of its kind that paid female full professors the most relative to male full professors.
In its Feb. 2 article, The Chronicle listed the top universities for female pay by the level of degrees each university awards and by public and private institutions. Highlands earned the top spot for public master’s-granting universities.
“In 2019 in our nation, women are paid 79 cents for every dollar earned by men,” said Highlands President Sam Minner. “That is unfair and simply unacceptable. I am pleased that here at Highlands, the faculty is not compensated on the basis of gender.
“Universities should aspire to be model organizations in regard to the treatment of employees,” Minner said. “What women are paid in comparison to men is an important variable in symbolizing a commitment to social justice.”
The Chronicle based its report on data universities and colleges report to the U.S. Department of Education, which showed the average salary for male professors at Highlands as $67,966 and for female professors as $83,394, 122.7 percent more than men’s.
Increasing salaries overall is one of the top goals for Highlands for the next fiscal year, according to Minner.
“If we want to provide the best education for our students and be competitive as an institution and as a state, we have to keep our best faculty and staff members and recruit the best,” Minner said.