MADISON, Wis. – A letter signed by a growing list of over two-hundred facility, alumni and students of the University of Wisconsin system and addressed to system president Ray Cross was posted online last week.

The letter objects to a plan to make the system a public authority – making it more autonomous — and also plans to reduce two-year state funding by $300 million.

What Cross may not know, however, is that like previous Media Trackers investigations, those who are speaking the loudest from inside UW are often those who work the least.

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Media Trackers analyzed the letter, which was signed by professors, students, alumni and others. While it is difficult to analyze all those that signed as names continue to be added, Media Trackers pulled the spring 2015 course loads and salaries of the first 30 currently actively employed professors to add their name to the letter. What Media Trackers found is that those opposed to the cuts get paid handsomely for spending very little time in the classroom.

While professors loaded their schedule with “courses” such as independent study, independent reading, reading and research, and other “courses” that often involved just a few students, very few spent actual time in front of a class teaching.

Of the 28 professors analyzed from 4-year universities (which make up 90% of the proposed $300 million in proposed budget cuts), we found:

  • Just 40 classes (three or more credits) were taught total, averaging 1.43 classes per professor this spring.
  • A total of $2.83 million in salaries, averaging over $101,000 per professor.
  • Just five professors of the 28 taught three or more courses while eight professors, or 28.6%, taught no classes at all.
  • Not a single UW-Madison or UW-Milwaukee professor taught more than two classes.
  • Six of the eight professors that do not teach a single class are employed at UW-Madison – the university that makes up more than 38% of the proposed budget cut.
  • Three professors taught four classes each during the spring semester. Those three professors each made less than $70,000, which is more than $10,000 less than the lowest paid UW-Madison professor — who taught just one class.
  • The highest paid professor was the professor first listed on the letter and the professor who posted the letter online. That UW-Milwaukee professor, Richard Grusin, makes $153,016 for teaching just one class.
  • One professor, Marc Levine of UW-Milwaukee, is paid $65,827 a year and teaches just one course this spring – a history course based on the HBO series “The Wire.”

*Two-year institution professors were not included as comparing two-year and four-year institution workloads was difficult due to the vast range of credits per course.

Spring Semester 2015 Classroom Taught Courses and Salaries

(All salaries from the 2014-15 fiscal year unless noted otherwise.)

Richard Grusin, Director of the Center for 21st Century Studies and Professor of English, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 1 course.
  • $153,016

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Robert Asen, Professor of Communication Arts, UW-Madison.

  • 1 course (3 credits total).
  • $106,050

Margaret Atherton, Professor of Philosophy, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 2 courses.
  • $98,393

Mark Balhorn, Professor of English, UW-Stevens Point

  • 4 courses.
  • $66,695

Brad Barham, Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW-Madison.

  • 2 courses
  • $148,129

Michael Bell, Professor of Community & Environmental Sociology, UW-Madison.

  • 1 course
  • $115,890

Joel Berkowitz, Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 0 courses.
  • $94,359

Russ Castronovo, Professor of English, UW-Madison.

  • 0 courses. (Taught an online 3 credit course over winter break.)
  • $136,922

Murray Clayton, Professor of Statistics, UW-Madison.

  • 2 courses
  • $152,787

Jane Collins, Professor of Community & Environmental Sociology, UW-Madison.

  • 0 courses
  • $123,917

Khalil Dokhanchi, Professor of Political Science, UW-Superior.

  • 4 courses.
  • $69,317

Michael Draney, Professor of Biology, UW-Green Bay.

  • 3 courses (One course was a 4 credit course that included a lab.)
  • $62,387

Mark Evenson, Professor of Humanities, UW-Platteville.

  • 4 courses. (Based on a confirmed 12 credits. Unable to confirm number of courses prior to posting.)
  • $54,659

Andy Felt, Professor of Mathematics, UW-Stevens Point.

  • 2 courses.
  • $67,503

Mark Fuller, Professor of Mathematics, UW-Rock County.

  • 3 courses.
  • $64,887 (2012-13 fiscal year)

Jane Gallop, Professor of English, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 0 courses.
  • $142,327

Edward Gasque, Professor, Department of Biology, UW -Stevens Point.

  • 2 courses (Both 4 credit courses that included a lab.) (Also taught a 1 credit course.)
  • $78,851

Chad Alan Goldberg, Professor of Sociology, UW-Madison.

  • 0 courses.
  • $104,050

Irwin Goldman, Professor of Horticulture, UW-Madison.

  • 1 course. (Teaches this course and a related 1 credit lab with another professor.)
  • $150,975

Sara Goldrick-Rab, Professor of Educational Policy Studies & Sociology, UW-Madison.

  • 0 courses.
  • $87,484

Gary Green, Professor of Community & Environmental Sociology, UW-Madison.

  • 0 courses.
  • $123,561

(John) Lane Hall, Professor of English, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 1 course.
  • $79,567

Holly Hassel, Professor of English and Women’s Studies, UW-Marathon County

  • 3 courses (3 credits each). (Also taught six 1 credit courses and two 2 credit course)
  • $77,436 (2012-13)

Gregory Jay, Professor of English, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 1 course.
  • $101,099

Nancy Kendall, Professor of Educational Policy Studies, UW-Madison.

  • 1 course
  • $81,385

Mauricio Kilwein Guevara, Professor of English, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 2 courses.
  • $90,516

James P. Leary, Professor of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies, UW-Madison.

  • 2 courses. (One course taught with another instructor.)
  • $94,224

Stacey Lee, Professor of Educational Policy Studies, UW-Madison.

  • 0 courses.
  • $107,176

Kurt Leichtle, Professor and Broad Field Studies Social Studies Program Director, UW-River Falls.

  • 3 courses.
  • $76,202

Marc Levine, Professor of History, UW-Milwaukee.

  • 1 course. (Teachers a history course based on the HBO series “The Wire.”)
  • $65,827

Authored by Nathan Schacht

Published with permission