Executive Compensation at Stanford University (2024)

Stanford University (Stanford) is a private research university with about 18,000 students (8,000 undergrads and 10,000 graduate and medical students) in.  Approximately 54,000 undergraduate students apply annually; 4% or 2,000 are admitted.  Annual tuition, room and board is about $95,000 or about $380,000 for a 4-year degree.

Stanford is overseen by 30 trustees, 27 of whom are independent, although the most recent Form 990 (for the year ending 8/31/24) lists 38 trustees (due to timing differences), 18 of whom are male, while 16 are female (note:  gender is not reported on the Form 990; gender was determined by name and google searches).

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

• Revenue:  Stanford reported total revenue of $9.5 billion (2024)
• Contributions, Gifts, and Grants:  Stanford reported $3 billion (2024)
• Tuition and Fees:  Stanford reported $1.3 billion in tuition and fees (2024)
• Investment Income/Gains/Royalties:  $788 million (2024)
• Expenses: Stanford reported total expenses of $8.9 billion (including $533 million in depreciation) in 2024
• Grants:  Stanford reported giving $716 million in grants to students in 2024
• Net Income:  Stanford reported net income of $609 million in 2024 ($340 million in 2023 and $2.2 billion in 2022)
• Net Assets:  Stanford reported net assets of $52 billion in 2024

In other words,  Stanford took in sufficient income to cover all expenses and make $609 million in 2024 (compared to $340 million in 2023 and $2.2 billion in 2022). If you zero in on tuition and fees and grants, it is interesting to note Stanford took in $1.3 billion in tuition and fees and made cash grants of $716 million (55% of tuition and fees) to students unable to pay full tuition.  In other words, the full pay students subsidized and paid for the grants to other students (note:  In years past this is also evident; for example, in 2022 Stanford reported $2.2 billion in net income and in 2023, Stanford reported $340 million in net income).

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

• Total Number of Employees:   Stanford reported having 42,965 employees in 2024;
• Total Number of Employees Receiving More Than $100,000:  Stanford reported 12,733 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation;
• Total Compensation:   Stanford reported $5.5 billion was paid in compensation;
• Highly Compensated Employees:  26 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: Stanford reported paying for first class or charter travel, a personal residence or providing a housing allowance, and personal services.
• Personal loans to employees:   Stanford reported making 9 personal loans ranging from $85,350-$780, 534 to key employees and officers for housing, including 4 loans totaling $1,150,000 to Elizabeth Zacharias with a balance due of $1,070,000; 3 loans totaling $768,150 to Farnaz Khadem with a balance due of $768,150; and 1 loan to Lloyd Minor for $780,534 with a balance due of $780,534; and 1 loan for $25,000 to Richard Saller with a balance due of $25,000.
• Most highly compensated independent contractors and how much did they receive: 1,016 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation (the 5 highest are listed below) and
• Supplemental Retirement Plans: Stanford participates in supplemental retirement plans (see the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III Supplemental Information for details).

42,965 employees received $5.5 billion in compensation, or an average of $128,000. 12,733 employees received more than $100,000 in compensation with the 26 most highly compensated reported to be:

• $6,329,748:  Robert Wallace, CEO, SMC
• $5,273,157:  Frank Hanley, Chief, Pediatric Cardio
• $3,961,095:  Philip Pizzo, Former Dean School of Medicine
• $3,409,111:  Jay Kang, Senior MD, SMC
• $3,172,743:  Lloyd Minor, VP, Medical Affairs
• $2,991,840:  Yiping Woo, Professor and Chair, Cardio Surgery
• $2,975,909:  Troy Scott Taylor, Director, Football
• $1,958,142:  Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Former President, Trustee (thru 8/31/23)
• $1,829,989:  Randall Livingston, VP, Business Affairs/CFO
• $1,813,599:  Robert C Reidy, VP, Lands, Buildings and Real Estate
• $1,603,081:  Martin Shell, VP, Chief ERO
• $1,359,422:  Debra Zumwalt, VP, General Counsel
• $1,344,090:  Persis Drell, Provost (thru 9/30/23)
• $1,317,404:  Jon Denney, VP, Development
• $1,147,431:  Howard Wolf, VP alumni Affairs, President, Stanford Alumni Association
• $1,076,986:  Jonathan Levin, President/Trustee (appointed 8/1/24 – one month before year-end)
• $1,074,473:  Meghan Pierson, VP, University Affairs (appointed 7/29/24)
• $   976,473:  Jenny Martinez, Provost (appointed 10/1/23)
• $   957,519:  Farnaz Khadem, VP, Communications
• $   907,206:  Stephen Streiter, Former VP, SLAC (thru 10/1/23)
• $   843,949:  Elizabeth Zacharias, VP, Human Resources
• $   825,853:  Richard Saller, President/Trustee (thru 7/31/24)
• $   633,495:  Ryan Aden, VP, Government Affairs
• $   587,572:  Deborah Cullinan, VP, Arts
• $   473,839:  Bradley Haywood, Former Interim VP, Communications
• $   369,688:  Howard Pearson, Former Interim VP, Development

The 26 employees listed above received $50 million in compensation.  21 of the 26 (81%) employees listed above are male while 5 of the 26 (19%) are female.  The most highly compensated employee was Robert Wallace, the CEO of the Stanford Investment Company who received more than $6 million in 2024:

Stanford paid for first class or charter travel, personal services (i.e. maid, chauffeur, chef) and provided a housing allowance or a residence for personal use.  See the Form 990, Schedule J, Part III, Supplemental Information for more details on these expenses, deferred compensation and supplemental executive retirement plans.

1,016 independent contractors received more than $100,000 in compensation with the five most highly compensated reported to be:

• $115 million:  The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, of Baltimore, MD for construction
• $ 57 million:  Devcon C0nstruction, Inc, of Milpitas, CA for construction
• $ 61 million:  GCI General Contractors, of San Francisco, CA for construction
• $ 45 million:  Cahill Contractors, of San Francisco, CA for construction
• $ 44 million:  The CORE Group, of San Jose, CA for construction

To read the Form 990 (2023 for the year ending 8/31/24), click here.