Executive Compensation at Duke

Duke University (Duke) is one of the most academically competitive schools in the country with an acceptance rate at about 9% of applicants.  Located in Durham, North Caroline, Duke has about 15,000 students, of which 6,500 are undergraduates. The annual tuition is about $53,000 while room and board adds another $17,000 for a total annual cost of about $70,000.

In 2016, Duke’s total revenue was $2.8 billion with most of the income coming from 3 sources: contributions, gifts, and grants ($1.4 billion), tuition and academic fees ($1 billion) and investment income/sale of assets ($0.3 billion). Expenses were $2.7 billion (not including depreciation).  At year-end, Duke had $9.2 billion in net fund assets.

On the IRS Form 990 (2015 for the year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016), Duke reports $322 million  in grants were awarded with about $311 million given to domestic organizations and individuals.  Most of the grants appear to have been given to undergraduates, graduate, and pre and post doctoral students but the data table on the 990 (Schedule I, Part III) only lists the recipients (primarily graduate and pre-doctoral scholarships and stipends to graduate, pre and post doctoral students) of $151 million of the grants. The scholarships to undergraduates – about $150 million – appear to be missing from the public copy.

Duke reported having 30,004 employees in 2016 who received total compensation of $1.5 billion which equates to an average compensation of $51,000 (compared to $58,000 at Harvard). However, 2,857 received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 24 most highly compensated individuals listed below:

• $8,982,325:  Michael W Krzyzewski, Coach
• $3,574,393:  Neal F Triplett, Chief Investment Officer
• $2,613,638:  David N Cutcliffe, Coach
• $1,529,327:  Alice E Gould, Investment Manager
• $1,451,585:  Kevin M White, VP and Director of Athletics
• $1,405,423:  Richard H Brodhead, Trustee and President
• $1,231,852:  A Eugene Washington, MD, Chancellor, Health Affairs
• $1,209,644:  Ralph Snyderman, Chancellor Emeritus
• $1,157,190:  Joanne McCallie, Coach
• $1,055,914:  Nancy Catherine Andrews, MD, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs
• $  758,630:  Tallman Trask III, EVP
• $  650,527:  James Scott Gibson, Executive Vice Dean of Administration
• $  630,500:  Eric Peterson, Director, DCRI
• $  582,489:  Pamela J Bernard, VP and University Counsel
• $  678,065:  Sally Kornbluth, Provost
• $  664,724:  Peter Lange, Former Officer
• $  436,693:  Timothy W Walsh, Treasurer and VP of Finance
• $  413,955:  John J Noonan, Associate VP of Facilities
• $  401,068:  Richard Riddell, VP and University Secretary
• $  380,621:  James S Roberts, Executive Vice Provost Finance and Administration
• $  272,294:  Victor J Dzau, MD, Former Officer
• $  243,952:  Alvin L Crumbliss, Former Key Employee
• $  241,041:  Laurie L Patton, Former Key Employee
• $  229,373:  Valerie Ashby, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Of the 24 individuals listed above, 17 (or 71%) are men while 7 (or 29%) are women.  Collectively, the 25 individuals received total compensation of $31 million. Of the top 10 most highly compensated individuals who all received more than $1 million in compensation, 7 were men and 3 were women. It is also important to note 4 out of the top 10 individuals above were related to sports, 2 are related to investment management, 1 is a provost emeritus (the former provost who retired from the position but continues to receive the benefits), and 3 are related to academia.

Duke pays for first class and charter travel, travel for companions, health or social club dues including initiation fees, personal services and provides residences for certain staff.  In addition, Duke participates in gross up and tax indemnification payments. See the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III for supplemental information on the above information.

To read the IRS Form 990, click here.