“Here’s a question for people here: Would faculty average salaries by major be a better or worse stat? Does pay of professors correlate to teaching ability? If not this stat, exactly what part of endowment spending per student is significant for an academic experience?”
PengsPhils, I think it absolutely makes sense. A university where the majority of the faculty is affiliated with STEM departments and professional programs (Law and Business) will naturally have much higher average faculty salaries than a university where the majority of the faculty are affiliated with traditional discipline departments like the Humanities, Social Sciences and natural sciences.
Cost of living should also be factored in. Faculty in universities located in the Bay Area or NYC are obviously going to be paid a lot more than faculty at universities located in rural areas or areas with significantly lower costs of living.