Executive Compensation at the University of Southern California (2023)

The University of Southern California (USC) is a privately funded research university (not publicly funded like many state universities ) and is therefore governed by a board of trustees (as opposed to a state legislature or board of regents) with about 47,000 students (21,000 undergraduate and 26,000 graduate and professional students) in California.

Approximately 80,000 undergraduate students apply annually; 10% or 8,000 are admitted.  Annual tuition, room and board is about $100,000 or about $400,000 for a 4-year degree.

When analyzing colleges and universities generally, there are 8 key numbers to look at:

• Revenue:  In 2023,  USC reported total revenue of $5.1 billion;
• Contributions/Gifts/Grants:  In 2023, USC received $1 billion;
• Tuition and Fees:  In 2023,  USC received $2.5 billion in tuition and fees;
• Investment Income/Gains/Royalties:  In 2023, USC reported $251 million;
• Expenses:  In 2023,  USC reported total expenses of $5.1 billion (including $220 million in depreciation);
• Grants:  In 2023,  USC reported giving $763 million in grants to students;
• Net Income:  USC reported net income of $43 million in 2023; and
• Net Assets:  In 2023, USC reported net assets of $9.6 billion.

In other words,  USC took in sufficient income to cover all expenses and make $43 million in 2023 (compared to a net income of $518 million in 2022).

When analyzing compensation at colleges and universities, there are 8 key items to look at:

• Total Number of Employees:   USC reported having 44,960 employees in 2023;
• Total Number of Employees Receiving More Than $100,000:  USC reported 8,979 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation;
• Total Compensation:   USC reported $2.7 billion was paid in compensation;
• Highly Compensated Employees:   33 employees were reported to be highly compensated (see below):
• Did the school pay for first class or charter travel, travel for companions, health or social club dues or initiation fees, personal services, a personal residence or a housing allowance, discretionary spending accounts gross up payments of tax indemnification, or payments for business use of personal residence: USC  reported paying for first class or charter travel, travel for companions, health or social club dues or initiation fees, a personal residence or providing a housing allowance, personal services, and making gross up payments or tax indemnifications;
• Personal loans to employees:   USC reported making 19 housing loans falling nearly $20 million to employees with the principal amount $250,000 – $3 million and the balance due $50,000 – $1,983,723;
• Most highly compensated independent contractors and how much did they receive: 836 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation (the 5 highest are listed below) and
• Supplemental Retirement Plans: USC participates in supplemental retirement plans (see the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III Supplemental Information for details).

44,960 employees received $2.7 billion in compensation, or an average of $60,000 in 2023. 8,979  employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with 33 of the most highly compensated reported to be:

• $19,659,862:  Lincoln Riley, Head Football Coach
• $4,628,109:  Carol L Folt, President/Trustee
• $4,344,289:  Alexander Grinch, Asst Football Coach
• $4,204,107:  Andy Endfield, Men’s Head Basketball Coach
• $3,987,310:  Charles Helton, Former Head Football Coach
• $3,801,525:  Vaughn Starnes, Chair and Dist Professor, Surgery
• $3,749,856:  Louis A Vandermolen, Professor of Clinical Medicine
• $3,430,161:  Steven D Shapiro, SVP, Health Affairs
• $3,101,492:  Chrysostomos L Nikias, Former President and Professor of Engineering and Classics
• $2,199,544:  Charles F Zukoski, Provost and SVP
• $2,064,680:  Rod Hanners, CEO, Keck Medicine of USC
• $1,995,159:  James M Staten, SVP, Finance and CFO
• $1,829,822:  Amy Diamond, Chief Investment Officer
• $1,521,387:  Felicia A Washington, SVP, HR
• $1,413,546:  Beong-S00 Kim, SVP, General Counsel
• $1,315,907:  Carolyn Meltzer, Dean, School of Medicine
• $1,233,888:  Geoffrey Garrett, Dean, Marshall School of Business
• $1,105,272:  Laura Mosqueda, Former Dean
• $  930,738:  Tracey Vranich, Interim SVP
• $  868,231:  David W Wright, SVP, Administration
• $  828,116:  Ishwar K Puri, SVP, Research and Innovation
• $  798,824:  Erik Brink, Associate SVP
• $  752,693:  Amber Miller, Dean
• $  726,820:  Samuel Garrison, SVP, University Relations
• $  685,331:  Michael Quick, Former Provost and SVP, Academic Affairs
• $  644,480:  Yannis C Yortsos, Dean, Viterbi School of Engineering
• $  619,476:  Kyle Henley, SVP, Chief Communications Officer
• $  606,073:  Elizabeth Graddy,Interim Provost and SVP
• $  479,426:  Narsing Rao, Interim Dean, Keck Medicine of USC
• $  475,922:  Carolyn Domen-Broshears, Secretary
• $  436,184:  Glenn Osaki, Former SVP and Communications Officer
• $  234,800:  Gareth James, Former Interim Dean
• $  189,128:  David Brown, Former Interim SVP

The 33 highly compensated employees listed above received $77 million in compensation.  24 0f the 33 (73%) most highly compensated employees are male while 9 of the 33 (27%) are female.  The most highly compensated employee was Lincoln Riley, the head football coach who received nearly $20 million in 2023.

USC paid for first class or charter travel, personal services (i.e maid, chauffeur, chef), health or social club dues or initiation fees, housing allowances or residence for personal use, gross up payments or tax indemnificaitions.  For detail on these expenses, see the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information.

USC made 19 housing loans to 12 employees totaling nearly $20 million with the balance due at nearly $16 million.  See the Form 990, Schedule L, Part II, Loans to and From Interested Persons for more details.

836 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in 2023. The 5 most highly compensated were reported to be:

• $71 million:  2U Inc, of LA, CA for on-line education service
• $22 millon:  Lyft, of NY, NY for student ride program
• $19 million:  Deloitte Consulting, of Hermitage, TN for consulting
• $19 million:  Smith Group, of LA, CA for engineering/architectural services
• $18 million:  The Turner Corp, of NY, NY for construction services

To read the Form 990 (2021 for the year ending June 30, 2023), click here.