Utah's public colleges are falling behind in faculty pay, making it harder for some to retain professors and recruit new talent.

While higher education institutions nationally are struggling to keep salaries in pace with inflation, some Utah institutions including Salt Lake Community College and Utah State University are coming up far short, according to a report Monday by the American Association of University Professors.

Professors at Salt Lake Community College earned an average of $50,100 for the 2005-2006 academic year, while the average at public two-year colleges nationally came in approximately $66,000. The disparity is similar at USU, where professors were paid an average of $76,600, while the national average at public doctoral institutions is $101,600.

Utah Valley State College's average professorial salary of $60,000 also paled next to the national average of $73,400 at public baccalaureate colleges. The privately owned Brigham Young University did not participate in the study.

The University of California at Los Angeles, New Jersey Institute of Technology and The University of California at Berkeley topped the list of highest-paid professors at public universities, with average faculty pay of about $128,000. Rockefeller University was the highest of both private and public universities, with an average faculty salary of $172,800. The study did not include salaries of medical professors.

Lower salaries at USU have meant losing top faculty to universities that offer bigger paychecks, said Raymond Coward, executive vice president and provost. The university reported losing 157 faculty over a four-year period, including a dean and vice president who went out of state for higher salaries.

"We must address this issue," Coward said. "If we can't retain the world-class scientists that we have here at Utah State, we are going to be disadvantaged. If we don't pay attention to it, we are going to start losing people in droves."

Joy Tlou, director of public relations for Salt Lake Community College, said the college hasn't seen quite the same struggle to retain professors as USU. The college's hefty benefits plan may be the one factor helping convince instructors to stay, he said.

"The college understands that our salaries for faculty and staff are some of the lowest in the country," Tlou said. "At the same time, we're one of the few places that carries such a comprehensive compensation package."

Faculty pay scales are suffering around the nation as well, growing only about 3.1 percent this year and falling behind the 3.5 percent inflation rate. That marks the second year in a row where professors' pay didn't keep up, the national report said.