The Faculty Advisory Committee, chaired by English professor James Smythe, requested a pay raise of more than 5.5% for the 1972-1973 academic year. It would be the first pay increase for the faculty since the 1970-1971 academic year. The 13% increase in the cost of tuition gave the faculty hope that such a raise would be possible. Pepperdine faculty had some of the lowest salaries among the American professoriate, according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).¹