Here we have a memo written by member of the Columbia University economics department executive committee, Albert G. Hart, that presents the results of what appears to be his informal polling of the chairpersons of 21 departments. Fifteen of the departments provided the salary ranges at four different ranks. No further details are provided, this one page memo was simply filed away in a folder marked “memoranda”. Maybe there is more to be found in Hart’s papers at Columbia University. Up to now I have only sampled Hart’s papers for teaching materials and perhaps next time, I’ll need to look into his papers dealing with departmental administrative affairs.
For a glance at salaries about a half-century earlier: Professors and instructors’ salaries ca. 1907.
________________
AGH [Albert Gailord Hart] 4/21/61
CONFIDENTIAL information on economic salaries, 1960-61, from chairmen of departments
|
Institution |
Professors | Associate professors | Assistant professors |
Instructors |
| Harvard |
$12,000-22,000 |
$9,000-12,000 | $7,500-8,700 |
$6,500 |
| Princeton |
$12,000-…?… |
$9,000-11,500 | $7,000-8,750 |
$6,000-6,750 |
| California |
$11,700-21,000 |
$8,940-10,344 | $7,008-8,112 |
$5,916-6,360 |
| MIT |
$11,000-20,000 |
$8,000-11,000 | $6,500-9,000 |
$5,500-5,750 |
| Minnesota |
$11,000-18,000 |
$8,500-11,000 | $6,800-8,400 |
? |
| COLUMBIA |
$11,000-20,000 |
$8,500-10,000 | $6,500-7,500 |
$5,500-5,750 |
| Northwestern |
$11,000-…?… |
$8,000-11,000 | $6,800-7,500 |
? |
| Duke |
$11,400-16,000 |
$8,200-10,000 | $7,200-8,200 |
$5,800-6,500 |
| Illinois |
$11,000-15,000 |
$7,500-10,000 | $6,900-8,600 |
$6,500-7,100 |
| Cornell |
$10,000-15,000 |
$8,000-10,000 | $6,500-7,500 |
$5,500-6,500 |
| Indiana |
$10,000-14,800 |
$8,300-10,000 | $6,500-7,500 |
? |
| Michigan |
$10,000-…?… |
$8,700-..9,500 | $6,600-8,000 |
$5,000 |
| Virginia |
$..9,800-15,000 |
$7,800-..9,800 | $6,600-7,800 |
? |
| Wisconsin |
$..9,240-16,150 |
$8,000-..9,000 | $6,550-8,460 |
$5,250-5,450 |
| Iowa State (Ames) |
$..8,500-13,000 |
$7,500-..8,500 | $6,700-8,000 |
$4,700-6,600 |
[…]
Note: The following institutions for which data were not included in the source materials are believed to pay their economists at scales at or above the Columbia level:
Carnegie Tech
Chicago
Johns Hopkins
Stanford
Yale
UCLA
[…]
Source: Columbia University Archives. Columbia University, Department of Economics Collection. Carl Shoup Materials: Box 11, Folder: “Economics—Memoranda”.