Professors Paid Better for Good Looks

It's clearly recognized that success in a high profile career is affected to a great degree by an individual's physical appearance. Good looks equates to faster advancement and higher salaries. What's not clearly recognized is that good looks also appears to have a significant impact on the salaries in academia, typically a less than high profile career.

According to a study by Dr. Daniel Hamermesh of the University of Texas, good looking professors are perceived as better teachers, receive higher evaluations, and, therefore, are paid more handsomely than less attractive individuals. The research analyzed 94 teachers for individual attractiveness which was compared to results achieved in the classes they taught. From Beauty in the Classroom: Professors' Pulchritude and Putative Pedagogical Productivity, Dr. Hamermesh concludes:

To the extent that teaching is an important component of job performance, and to the extent that teaching evaluations accurately measure performance, basing salary on measured teaching performance implies a significant wage premium for beauty, even for college professors.

Although not stated but implied by the research is that actions taken by teachers to maintain their appearances can be directly correlated to job performance. Additionally, actions taken to enhance one's appearance can be easily justified by increased rewards in stature and salary.

In conclusion, more research is warranted on the subject of beauty and its affect on job rewards. There's a possibility that additional studies may contradict Dr. Hamermesh's findings. My own experience has been that the most beautiful teacher I ever had was Mrs. Stubblefield in the 10th grade. Unfortunately, I don't exactly recall what course she taught.