Executive Compensation at Harvard (2021)

Harvard is a private teaching and research university with an acceptance rate at about 5% of applicants.  Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard has about 25,000 students (both undergraduate and graduate students). The annual tuition, room, board, and fees is about $77,000 which means a 4-year degree is about $300,000.

There are 13 voting members (Fellows) of the governing body, 10 of whom are independent, 8 of the 13 (62%) are male while 5 of the 13 (38%) are female.

In 2021, Harvard’s total revenue was $9 billion (compared to $7 billion in 2020) with most of the income coming from 3 sources:  investment income, gains, and royalties ($5.3 billion), contributions, gifts, and grants ($1.9 billion) and tuition, fees, and services  ($1.3 billion).  Expenses were $5 billion (not including $388 million in depreciation).  At year-end, Harvard had $61 billion in net assets.

On the IRS Form 990 (for the year ending June 30, 2021), Harvard reports $766 million in grants (about 12% of revenue), of which $597 million was awarded to domestic individuals, $144 million to domestic organizations, and $25 million to foreign organizations, governments, and individuals.  All of the grants awarded to individuals were cash grants ($597 million):

• $247 million was awarded to 9,408 graduate students for tuition and and fees (avg of $26,000)
• $165 million was awarded to 3,663 undergraduate  for tuition and fees (avg of $45,000)
• $103 million was awarded to 45,164 graduate students for stipends (avg of $2,000)
• $ 82 million was awarded to 11,269 students for various other reasons (avg of $7,000)

It is unclear why the number of students awarded grants (about 69,000) exceeds the total student population (25,000).

Harvard reported having 34,351 employees in 2021 who received total compensation of $2.5 billion  which equates to an average compensation of $73,000 (compared to $72,000 at MIT, $45,000 at Boston University, $45,000 at Boston College; $57,000 at Duke).  5,433 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 24 most highly compensated individuals listed below:

• $2,046,073:  V Kasturi Rangan, Faculty*
• $1,935,599:  Lynn Paine, Faculty*
• $1,412,66:  David J Malan, Faculty
• $1,132,942:  Lawrence S Bacow, Fellow/President
• $1,004,027:  Anne H Margulies, VP and CIO
• $  912,279:  Nitin Nohria, Dean, Faculty of Business (until 21/21/20)
• $  899,624:  Marilyn M Hausammann VP for HR
• $  896,277:  George Q Daley, Dean, Faculty of Medicine
• $  828,544:  Brian Lee, VP for Alumni Affairs and Development
• $  825,670:  Alan M Garber, Provost
• $  824,068:  Claudine Gay, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
• $  770,423:  Katherine N Lapp, EVP
• $  768,477:  Nadarajan Chetty, Faculty
• $  750,026:  Tarun Khanna, Faculty*
• $  613,725:  Thomas J Hollister, VP for Finance and CFO
• $  583,347:  Diane Lopez, VP and General Counsel
• $  536,716:  Paul Andrew, VP, Public Affairs and Communication
• $  502,253:  Michael D Smith
• $  484,775:  Meredith Weenick, VP for Campus Services
• $  478,998:  Marc L Goodheart,  VP and Secretary of the University
• $  474,043:  Jeffrey S Flier
• $  452,522:  Barbara J McNeil
• $  448,080:  Martha Whitehead, VP for the Harvard Library
• $  442,557:  Drew Gilpin Faust

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

The 24 most highly compensated employees received $20 million in compensation.  15 of the 24 (63%) most highly compensated employees are male while 9 of the 24 (37%) 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 $883,000.

Harvard provided a $1 million loan to Michael Smith, a former key employee, for the purchase of a home. The balance due is $864,000.

Harvard provided a $350,000 loan to Claudine Gay, a key employee, to purchase a home. The balance due is $241,000.

Harvard provided a $67,000 loan to Nitin Nohria, a key employee, for education of a dependent.  The balance due is $48,000.

Bharat Anand, a family member of Nitin Nohria, a key employee, received $556,362 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 $572,332 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 $398,764 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 $343,855 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 $274,812 as compensation for employment.

To read the IRS Form 990 (for the year ending June 30, 2021), click here.