Executive Compensation at Harvard

Harvard is a private teaching and research university with an acceptance rate at about 5% of applicants.  Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard has about 35,000 students including 6,000 undergraduates. The annual tuition, room, board, and fees is about $77,000.

There are 12 voting members (Fellows) of the governing body, 9 of whom are independent, 8 of the 12 (67%) are male while 4 of the 12 (33%) are female.

In 2020, Harvard’s total revenue was $7.4 billion (compared to $7.9 billion in 2019) with most of the income coming from 3 sources  :investment income, gains, and royalties ($4 billion), contributions, gifts, and grants ($1.4 billion) and tuition, fees, and services  ($1.9 billion).  Expenses were $5.3 billion (not including $350 million in depreciation).  At year-end, Harvard had $49 billion in net fund assets.

On the IRS Form 990 (2019 for the year beginning July 1, 2019 and ending June 30, 2020), Harvard reports $817 million in grants, of which $647 million was awarded to domestic individuals, $147 million to domestic organizations, and $23 million to foreign organizations, governments, and individuals.  Most of the grants awarded to individuals were non-cash grants ($460 million). 8,444 individuals received $460 million or an average non-cash tuition grant of $55,000 each (compared to $68,000 at MIT and $25,000 at Boston University), which means those paying full tuition supplemented other student’s tuition.

Harvard reported having 38,263 employees in 2020 who received total compensation of $2.6 billion  which equates to an average compensation of $68,000 (compared to $72,000 at MIT, $45,000 at Boston University, $45,000 at Boston College; $57,000 at Duke).  5,020 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 26 most highly compensated individuals listed below:

• $2,012,294:  Robert L Simmons, Faculty*
• $1,864,718:  David E Bell, Faculty*
• $1,825,137:  Richard S Ruback, Faculty
• $1,224,889:  Lawrence S Bacow, Fellow/President
• $1,049,532:  Francesca Gino, Faculty*
• $  975,840:  David J Malan, Faculty
• $  955,759:  Alan M Garber, Provost
• $  918,972:  Nitin Nohria, Dean, Faculty of Business
• $  892,218:  George Q Daley, Dean, Faculty of Medicine
• $  874,077:  Brian Lee, VP for Alumni Affairs and Development
• $  812,012:  Katherine N Lapp, EVP
• $  783,399:  Claudine Gay, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
• $  761,270:  Drew Gilpin Faust
• $  632,725:  Michael D Smith
• $  629,613:  Thomas J Hollister, VP for Finance and CFO
• $  606,333:  Anne H Margulies, VP and CIO
• $  537,551:  Diane Lopez, VP and General Counsel
• $  528,331:  Paul Andrew, VP, Public Affairs and Communication
• $  491,772:  Robert W Iuliano
• $  486,384:  Meredith Weenick, VP for Campus Services
• $  480,881:  Marilyn M Hausammann VP for HR
• $  479,045:  Marc L Goodheart,  VP and Secretary of the University
• $  478,051:  Leah Rosovsky
• $  471,511:  Jeffrey S Flier
• $  453,816:  Barbara J McNeil
• $  282,922:  Martha Whitehead, VP for the Harvard Library (as of 6/1/19)

A “*” indicates a portion of compensation came from a related/affiliated organization.

The 26 most highly compensated employees received $22 million in compensation.  17 of the 26 (65%) most highly compensated employees are male while 9 of the 26 (35%) are female.

Harvard paid for first class or charter travel, travel for companions, personal services, health or social club dues or initiation fees, and provided housing or a housing allowance, gross up payments or tax indemnification. To read more detail about these expenses and the non-qualified supplemental retirement plan, see the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information.

Harvard provided a $1 million loan to Drew Gilpin Faust , the former President, for the construction of a home. The balance due is $917,000.

Harvard provided a $1 million loan to Michael Smith, a former key employee, for the purchase of a home. The balance due is $897,000.

Harvard provided a $350,000 loan to Claudine Gay, a key employee, to purchase a home. The balance due is $251,000.

Harvard provided a $67,000 loan to Nitin Nohria, a key employee, for education of a dependent.  The balance due is $55,000.

Bharat Anand, a family member of Nitin Nohria, a key employee, received $558,906 as compensation for employment (note: Bharaat Anand is not listed on the above list as a highly compensated employee).

Amy Edmondson, a family member of George Daley, a key employee, received $524,738 as compensation for employment (note: Amy Edmondson is not listed in the above as one of the highly compensated employees).

Soheyla Gharib, a family member of William F Lee, a fellow, received $420,584 as compensation for employment (note:  Soheyla Gharib is not listed above as one of the most highly compensated employees).

Richard T Lee, a family member of William F Lee, a fellow, received $342,913 as compensation for employment (note: Richard T Lee is not listed above as one of the most highly compensated employees).

Catherine Lee Smith, a family member of William F Lee, a fellow, received $267,616 as compensation for employment.