Faculty Salary Inequality in Texas: The Role of Academic Inbreeding or Homegrown Faculty

• In Event: Broken Promises in Higher Education: The Hidden Costs of Diversity, Development, and Institutional Support

Abstract

While the U.S. higher education institutions often do not immediately hire their doctoral graduates, academic inbreeding, or homegrown faculty hiring, is not new. However, research on academic inbreeding has largely overlooked the U.S. higher education system. This study examines whether, and to what extent, faculty salaries vary based on academic inbreeding/homegrown faculty status and individual characteristics such as gender, race, rank, and discipline. We collected 3,122 faculty data from eight Hispanic-Serving Research Universities in Texas and merged it with publicly available faculty salary data. Our findings show that homegrown faculty receive lower salaries than non-homegrown faculty, with variations by gender, rank, and discipline. We offer implications for more equitable faculty reward policies and practices for homegrown faculty.

Authors

• Hyun Kyoung Ro, University of North Texas

• Jungmin Lee, University of Kentucky