Ohio ecology - Ohio

Growth at OSU extends to classrooms - Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State University is known for many things -- research breakthroughs, ever-expanding medical care and sports prowess.

But at its heart, Ohio State's main mission always has been teaching.

Here's some proof: The university employs more faculty members than any other type of employee. In 2008, professors of all stripes accounted for nearly 14 percent of the OSU work force.

And in the past decade, the faculty has grown both in size and pay.

There now are 448 more teachers than in 1998. The 3,530 professors make an average salary of $99,938 -- about 17 percent higher than a decade ago, after adjusting for inflation. (Ohio State reports an average faculty salary almost $3,700 lower because it looks just at the three main kinds of professors.)

Either figure is about in the middle of Ohio State's peer group but below the nearly $102,000 average at the nation's 62 leading research universities. It's also below average for Americans with advanced degrees.