The most important asset of any organization is its people (Danish & Usman, 2010). Whatever the market segment, they are the driving force behind creating and delivering on the organization’s strategic and financial objectives. The ability to attract, retain and motivate the necessary workforce, through use of financial rewards, is a main determinant in the degree to which these objectives are met (Fong & Tosi, 2007; Gomez- Mejia & Balkin, 1992b; Newman, Gerhart, & Milkovich, 2016). While there are many approaches to pay strategy, a key aspect, and the focus of this dissertation, is the market positioning of cash compensation. Specifically examined was the stated policy narrative of market positioning compared to actual pay practice. While compensation practices in the private sector have received significant research attention, much less focus has been given to pay in academia. This work seeks to address this apparent gap and extend our knowledge in this area. Utilizing faculty pay at Florida’s ten major public universities, this dissertation analyzes consistency between the narrative and practice at the levels of university, department, rank, size and region. The findings demonstrated a significant difference between pay and university but inconsistencies across all levels with the stated narrative. Additionally, the results indicate a widening gap between actual pay and the market average between the 2005- 2006 academic year to present. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection