Executive Compensation at Drexel University (2022)
Drexel University is a private research university in Philadelphia, PA (although there are satellite campuses) with about 25,000 students (an estimated 14,000 undergraduate students and 8,000 graduate students and 3,000 other students). The annual cost of tuition, room and board (undergraduate) is about $80,000.
In 2022, Drexel reported total revenue of $1.4 billion (compared to $1.2 billion in 2021 and $1.3 billion in 2020) with the largest sources being tuition and fees ($1 billion), government grants ($129 million), related organizations ($39 million) and contributions, gifts ,and grants ($41 million). Read more 
Executive Compensation at Boston University (2022)
Boston University (BU) is a private research university with an acceptance rate at about 20% of applicants. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, BU has about 37,00 students, of which 18,000 are undergraduates. The annual tuition, room, board, and fees is about $87,000.
In 2020, BU’s total revenue was $3.1 billion in 2022 (compared to $2.8 billion in 2021, $2.6 billion in 2020 and $2.7 billion in 2019) with most of the income coming from 2 sources: contributions, gifts, and grants ($73 million) and tuition, fees, and services ($1.8 billion). Expenses were $2.7 billion (not including $147 million in depreciation). At year-end, BU had $5.2 billion in net fund assets – an increase of $1 billion since 2020 (even with a $532 million net unrealizable loss on investments in 2022). Read more
Executive Compensation at the National Geographic Society (2022)
The National Geographic Society (NGS) is a tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization based in Washington, DC that primarily relies on investment income (gains on the sale of investments, dividends, interest, etc), royalties, and contributions for revenue. With $1.5 billion in net assets (down $250 million since last year due to unrealized losses on investments), NGS has the ability to rely on these resources to keep their programs going when contributions, gifts, and grants (roughly $20-$50 million annually) are not enough, and when revenue greatly decreases due to unforeseen circumstances, like the pandemic in 2020. Read more
Executive Compensation at the National Geographic Society (2021)
When we think of the National Geographic Society (NGS), we often think of the magazine, which according to my childhood friends, was the first magazine they could look through to see naked people. But, the National Geographic Society is so much more than just the magazine. In their own words, they “identify and invest in an international community of explorers: leading scientists, educators, storytellers, conservationists, technologists, and many other change makers who help us define some of the critical challenges of our time….”
The NGS is a tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization based in Washington, DC that primarily relies on investment income (gains on the sale of investments, dividends, interest, etc), royalties, and contributions for revenue. With $1.7 billion in net assets, NGS has the ability to rely on these resources to keep their programs going when contributions, gifts, and grants (roughly $20-$50 million annually) are not enough, and when revenue greatly decreases due to unforeseen circumstances, like the pandemic in 2020. Read more
The Open Secret Colleges and Universities Don’t Want You To Know
In 1984, the average tuition, room and board was about $4,600, which equates to $14,000 in 2024, taking into consideration the inflation rate, which means todays price of tuition, room and board should be about 300% higher than in 1984. But, we all know that isn’t the case.
The average tuition, room and board at a college or university (and it varies depending on whether the school is private or public) in 2024 is about $42,000 – about 900% more than in 1984. Most private schools cost $80,000 – $100,000 annually which makes people – and especially parents – wonder why have the costs of educating our kids increased so dramatically? Read more
Executive Compensation at Columbia (2022)
2022 was a record year for Columbia University (Columbia) and many of its employees with total revenue reaching an all time high: $7.1 billion while expenses totaled $5.6 billion (not including $329 in depreciation). Although the university’s expenses were more than $1 billion less than total revenue, $2.3 billion in net unrealized losses on investments (2022 was not a great year in the market) caused net assets to decline from $19.6 billion to $18.4 billion at year-end.
In terms of compensation, 37,144 employees were compensated $3.6 billion, which equates to an average compensation of $79,000. The 20 most highly compensated individuals (listed below) received $39 million which equates to an average compensation package of nearly $2 million each: Read more
Executive Compensation at Harvard (2022)
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 $85,000 which means a 4-year degree is about $340,000.
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 2022, Harvard’s total revenue was $9.6 billion (compared to $9 billion in 2021 and $7 billion in 2020) with most of the income coming from 3 sources: investment income, gains, and royalties ($5.2 billion), contributions, gifts, and grants ($2.3 billion) and tuition, fees, and services ($1.8 billion). Expenses were $5.4 billion (not including $403 million in depreciation). At year-end, Harvard had $59 billion in net assets – a $2 billion decline over the previous year primarily due to $6 billion in unrealized losses on investments that were partially offset by the $4 billion in excess revenue over expenses in 2022. Read more
How Revenue is Spent at the American Federation of Teachers (2022)
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher’s union (although membership is not limited to teachers) with 1.7 million members (after the National Education Association) in 3,000 local affiliates in the USA. A non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (5), AFT is based in Washington, DC and is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
The most recent Form 990 (2021 for the year ending June 30, 2022) reports the following information about the AFT: Read more
Executive Compensation at the American Federation of Teachers (2022)
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher’s union (although membership is not limited to teachers) with 1.7 million members (after the National Education Association) in 3,000 local affiliates in the USA. A non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (5), the AFT is based in Washington, DC and is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
For the year ending June 30, 2022, AFT reported total revenue of $206 million (mostly from membership dues) and expenses of $190 million (with the unspent funds added to the general fund). The largest expense for the organization was compensation for the 354 employees who received $63 million, which equates to an average compensation of $178,000. However, only 205 employees (58%) received more than $100,000 in compensation. The 8 most highly compensated employees were reported to be: Read more
Executive Compensation at Liberty University (2022)
Liberty University (Liberty) – a private evangelical Christian university based in Lynchburg, Virginia – has been in the news quite a bit over the past few years. Seems the US Department of Education has been investigating Liberty for violations related to the public reporting of campus crime. Faced with a large fine (estimated to be $37 million), Liberty seems to be in the hot seat again (the Jerry Falwell, Jr sexual misconduct saga that resulted in Falwell’s resignation as President of the university hit the public forum in 2020), although $37 million is a drop in the bucket for Liberty who has more than $3 billion in net assets. Read more
