A federal appeals court recently ruled that the University of Pittsburgh had every right to impose a pay cut on a tenured grad school professor.
Professor Jerome McKinney, a professor of public administration, argued that he was the only black faculty member in the university’s graduate school of public and international affairs, and that his salary increases between 2006 and 2013 were “substantially smaller” than those given to white faculty members. His salary was also reduced by 20 percent in September 2013.
McKinney’s lawsuit also requested $115,000 in back pay.
After a U.S. Western District court judge demanded that the university restore McKinney’s pay, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit overturned the order, arguing that the professor has no constitutionally protected guarantee to a specific salary level, and that his contract provides him no such guarantee either.
According to the university, which determines faculty raises on the basis of merit, McKinney “did not fare well” in faculty reviews, enrollments in his classes declined, he received poor student evaluations, and his research agenda was “stagnant.”
Professor McKinney’s reviews on RateMyProfessors.com seem to agree with the university’s assessment. One anonymous review from 2007 notes:
University officials told the court that the grad school professor was repeatedly warned that his performance was mediocre.
The court also found that his compensation was not affected by his race. Judge Cheryl Ann Krause noted in her opinion that the pay cut McKinney received “was not wholly unusual” because the university had imposed pay cuts on at least 20 faculty members in the past.
Bad professors should not be rewarded for poor performance. It’s about time one of our nation’s universities stood up for the quality of education in its classrooms.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
