Executive Compensation at the Association of American Medical Colleges

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) (3) based in Washington, DC that is primarily engaged in administering and managing the MCAT (the entrance exam to medical schools in the US), the AMCAS (the application to medical school), and the ERAS (the application for a medical residency).

Although the members of this organization are medical schools, membership dues account for less than 8% of revenue.

There are 17 voting members (board members) of the governing party (the board) of whom 16 are independent.  The Form 990 (2019) list 18 members because the President and CEO  (a board member) changed mid-year so both are listed.  10 of the 18 (56%) are male while 8 (44%) are female.

In 2019, the AAMC reported total revenue of $218 million, of which $169 million (78%) came from the MCAT, AMCAS, and ERAS.  Expenses totaled $217 million (not including $18 million in depreciation) with compensation the largest expense.  875 employees received $114 million in compensation, which equates to an average compensation of $130,000.  However, only 290 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 19 most highly compensated reported to be:

• $1,647,879:  Darrell Kirch, President (thru 7/14/19)
• $  941,388:  Atul Grover, EVP
• $  742,685:  John Prescott, Chief Academic Officer
• $  726,529:  Janis Orlowski, Chief Health Care Officer
• $  642,546:  Karen Fisher, Chief Public Policy Officer
• $  638,710:  Diana Bourke, COO
• $  621,765:  Bernard Jarvis, Chief FINA and Admin Officer
• $  613,329:  Alison Whelan, Chief Med Edu Officer
• $  593,926:  Jennifer Schlener, Chief of Staff
• $  562,175:  Gabrielle Campbell, Chief Services Officer
• $  556,146:  Ross McKinney, Chief Scientific Officer
• $  550,776:  David Skorton, President and CEO (begin 7/15/19)
• $  519,553:  Frank Trinity, Chief Legal Officer
• $  489,907:  Constance Filling, Chief Learning Officer
• $  461,671:  David Acosta, Chief Div and Inclusion Officer
• $  449,558:  Karen Mitchell, Sr Dir, Admission Testing
• $  448,035:  Elisa Siegel, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
• $  425,739:  Marc Levy, CIO
• $  402,592:  Bill Mallon, Sr Dir, Strat and Innov Development

The 19 most highly compensated employees received nearly $12 million in compensation.  10 of the 19 most highly compensated employees are male while 9 are female.

The AAMC paid for first class travel. Specifically, the CEO can travel first class for any flight that is over 2 hours.

The AAMC paid for health or social club dues or initiation fees. Specifically, AAMC paid club dues on behalf of the CEO for business purposes.

To read about the deferred non-qualified compensation plan, see Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information on the Form 990.

AAMC expensed $48 million for fees for services, which are fees paid to non-employees.  $43 million of the $48 million was described as “contracted services” on Schedule O of the Form 990.  On Part VII, Section B, “Independent Contractors,”  AAMC reported 30 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 5 most highly compensated reported to be:

• $3,381,908:  Liaison International, of Watertown, MA for software
• $  600,142:  Ideas on Purpose, of NY, NY for website architecture
• $  525,293:  JW Marriott, of Austin, TX for catering services
• $  344,108:  Swissotel Chicago, of Chicago, IL for catering services
• $  314,066:  Peer Insight, of Washington, DC for design and build “proto”

Based on the above information, there are 25 other independent contractors that received less than $314,066 but more than $100,000.  Given that $43 million was paid for “contracted services,” it is unclear how this can be accurate, given the above 5 most highly compensated contractors.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2019), click here.