Syracuse University ceased to release its annual Committee Z report two years ago, a report that served as a public breakdown of SU faculty salaries by college, gender and rank. As of last Thursday, this resource seems to officially be making a much-needed comeback.

Initial reports in October that University Senate had no timeline for addressing the data gap since Committee Z reports stopped. But now, SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly has announced the creation of a Faculty Salary Review Committee as well as 18 committee members.

As The Daily Orange Editorial Board has expressed before, the information that was presented in the original Committee Z reports provided a valuable public tool for the university community. Moving forward to replace the committee-report dynamic and increase transparency in regard to SU’s faculty payments can only improve the campus community. Being upfront about faculty pay keeps the community in the loop and provides data to evaluate whether SU is competitive with its peer institutions.

The report will also support internal accountability: Bruce Carter, a chair of University Senate’s fiscal affairs committee, said the report could shed light on pay inequality across colleges and genders. If the information is made public, looking at the intersection of SU college and gender would be helpful in determine if there is a gender wage gap at SU.

Again, the university is unsure as to how much it will reveal about faculty salary data and is working out the details. Still, it’s forward-looking that SU has moved to bring back the data Committee Z provided and should push for the fullest disclosure of faculty salary data within its legal parameters.

So far, when it comes to faculty salary pay, it looks like SU is beginning to get back on the right track.