SPRINGFIELD - While it's not a trend he thinks about much, Illinois State University sophomore James Arvidson has noticed a change as he pursues a bachelor's degree in psychology.

The top teachers at school are more likely to be men than women.

"Elementary school and junior high, I had a lot more (women)," Arvidson said.

In fact, state records show that across the state's 12 university campuses, a student who takes a class from a teacher with full professor rank is about three times more likely to see a man at the front of the room.

And a Lee News Service analysis of university faculty across Illinois shows that while the top of the ivory tower continues to be predominantly male, that gap appears to be narrowing. On the same campuses eight years earlier, men outranked women by a five to one count.

The reasons for the trend aren't simple, experts say, and it's not clear how much effect gender equality at the top of universities actually has on students.

"There's not a lot of evidence students prefer one gender over the other," said Kathleen McKinney, an ISU professor of sociology with an expertise in teaching and learning.

But the title of "professor" carries with it an air of respect, not to mention a higher salary bracket. And some say a faculty that mirrors the student body's diversity can serve as inspiration for students, especially women and minorities.

"They know you've made it, and that becomes an option for them," says Alison Bailey, director of ISU's women's studies program.

Moving toward balance

State statistics show the differential between men and women professors has narrowed over the years, more drastically at some universities than others.

For example, Southern Illinois University in 1997 employed more than eight times as many men professors as women. In 2005, it was just more than three times as many. At Northern Illinois, the men dropped in their outnumbering of women by about five times to about three times in the same time period.

Steve Cunningham, associate vice president for human resources at Northern, says the trend is no accident.

Universities have tried to change their procedures to account for the unique challenges women face, such as extended childbirth leaves that could derail promotion attempts.

And more women are being hired at the entry level, so as the majority-male faculty hired in past decades retire, more opportunities to advance open up.

Numbers show that at some schools, the narrowing gap is more a matter of a drop in the number of male professors, not necessarily a boost in female numbers.

"The opportunity to improve depends on turnover," Cunningham said. "The market, fortunately, has a far more diverse pool now."

Increasing demand throughout higher education also means it could be tough for universities to keep women academics on campus long enough for them to achieve top rank.

"A lot of women don't advance here because they leave," said ISU's Bailey.

But as the statistics reflect a general shift toward balance at the top, some warn that some disciplines such as economics or philosophy remain very male-focused.

"There's this perception that women don't do philosophy," she said. "Or if they do it, they don't do it well."

A continuing trend?

This month, Harvard named its first-ever female president, a move widely praised in the higher education community for its symbolism. While ISU president, for example, Al Bowman became the first African-American president there in 2004, the Normal school, like others in Illinois, has yet to see a woman hold the top post.

Within the last decade, the majority of college graduates nationally shifted from being men to women. But ISU's Bailey cautions that the trend might not necessarily lead to more females in academia because so many decline advancing to graduate school.

But some signs point to a continued narrowing gap between men and women at the professor rank. Cynthia Nichols, Eastern Illinois University's director of civil rights and diversity, points out that the disparity between the numbers of associate and assistant professors, who could later be promoted, is much closer.

"As these women faculty members progress in their professional careers, there will certainly be a large number of women holding the rank of professor," she said.

And some college programs, such as nursing or family and consumer sciences, often struggle to find enough men.

Still, it takes nearly a decade to earn tenure, much less the rank of professor, so women have years of work before the top is completely balanced.

"It's going to take a long time to catch up," ISU's McKinney said.