Mississippi tenured professors teach fewer students, earn more, Auditor’s report finds
JACKSON, Miss. — Tenured professors at Mississippi’s public universities teach fewer students while earning significantly higher salaries than their non-tenure and tenure-track colleagues, according to a new report from the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.
The report, released Monday, calls for reforms to the state’s higher education tenure system.
“Mississippi spends hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars on higher education, and we need to ask hard questions about the return we get on that investment,” Auditor Shad White said in a statement. “This report reveals tenure can often be an excuse to get out of the classroom, and that needs to change.”
Analysts for the auditor’s office found that the average tenured professor taught fewer students than the average non-tenure or tenure-track professor at all state universities except for Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi.
Despite the lighter student load, tenured faculty earn “far more” than non-tenured faculty, the report states. The pay gap varies by department, with the report citing a 70 percent gap in business departments and an almost 200 percent gap in gender studies departments.
The report also criticized the state’s Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) for not maintaining data that shows whether faculty perform other key job duties, such as research and community service.
Additionally, the auditor’s office noted that the IHL permits individual universities to set their own promotion and tenure policies. The report cited one such policy requiring professors to show “creativity in a service area that enhances school’s diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, professionalism, and wellness efforts.”
White pointed to tenure reforms in other states as a potential model for Mississippi.
“Other states like Florida have recently reformed their tenure process, now requiring a review of professors for job performance even after they are granted tenure, and Mississippi should do the same,” White said.
The full report is available on the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor’s website.
