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Among Florida Universities, UF Has Most $250,000-Plus Earners

Did you know that the University of West Florida's athletic department has eight male head coaches and zero female head coaches?

Or that Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University has roughly three law enforcement personnel for every 1,000 students?

Students in a data journalism class at the University of Florida this week delved into state payroll records. Here's what they found, in no particular order.

1. Where the biggest earners work

Three out of every four state university employees who are paid at least $250,000 work at the University of Florida.

Of the 453 employees paid at that level, according to the official Florida state database, 94 percent are listed as faculty while almost all of the rest are in athletics.

That figure, however, includes physicians who work at UF Health as well as college deans, who are often faculty members.

The statistic doesn’t include UF’s athletic department because it is funded by the university’s nonprofit corporation, the University of Florida Athletic Association.

2. Graduate students aren't paid as well as others

Although the University of Florida employs more graduate students than any other public university in the state, its graduate students are not the best paid.

UF pays an average of $6,285 per graduate assistant but comes second behind Florida International University, according to state payroll information acquired on Wednesday.

FIU employs fewer graduate assistants — one-eighth the number employed at UF — but pays about $1,100 more.

These figures include employees listed as graduate assistants, graduate research assistants and graduate teaching assistants. Florida A&M University, which appears to report graduate assistant salaries differently, was excluded from the figures.

3. Police per student

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University has the most law enforcement officials per student.

The school, located in Tallahassee, has roughly three law enforcement personnel for every 1,000 students, according to state salary and enrollment records.

Right behind FAMU: the University of Florida, with 2.6 law enforcement personnel for every 1,000 students.

University of Central Florida had the lowest of the 10 universities considered.

The data included University of Central Florida, Florida International University, University of South Florida, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida State University, University of West Florida, Florida Atlantic University, University of North Florida, University of Florida and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

University employees with titles “law enforcement,” “police” and “safety” were considered in the analysis.

4. Athletics' male-to-female ratio

Women make about 78 cents to the dollar nationally, and in the male-dominated world of athletics, the story is the same.

Florida university data shows the median salary for male head coaches is $89,610, while the median salary for female head coaches is $65,915 — nearly a $20,000 difference.

In addition to salaries, there’s also a number disparity.

There are 71 male head coaches in the state university system, while there are only 27 female head coaches.

The University of West Florida, a Division 2 school, has three female head coaches and nine male head coaches.

The figures are only for salaries included in the official state database. The database does not include supplemental pay often paid to coaches outside the state salary system.

Information from the University of Florida is not publicly available because the University of Florida Athletic Association is a nonprofit organization separate from state payroll.

State salary information regarding athletics came from Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, University of North Florida, University of South Florida and the University of West Florida.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the number of head coaches at the University of West Florida. UWF has three female head coaches and nine male head coaches. The original story said UWF had zero female head coaches and eight male head coaches.

5. Deans receive similar pay at the University of Florida

Male and female deans at the University of Florida are paid similarly.

According to state university salary information, the median salary for male and female deans is almost identical. The number of male deans (seven) to female deans (eight) is close, too.

Female deans at UF make about $11,500 more than their male counterparts. However, that figure excludes the dean of the UF College of Medicine, which is traditionally paid far more than other deans on campus.

6. Universities spend big bucks on staff lawyers

Florida spends about $11.5 million annually on staff lawyers in state public college and universities.

It does not include contracted legal services.

The University of Central Florida and the University of Florida both spent about $2 million on their lawyers. These universities are also the two universities with the largest enrollments in the state.

The figures obtained are for general counsel, assistant general counsels and deputy general counsels.

Melanie Aman, Adriana Barbat, Sofia Costas, Dahlia Ghabour, Cresonia Hsieh, Jessica Pereda, Ariella Phillips and Antara Sinha contributed reporting.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org