990 report for 2018-19 shows increases in endowment and salaries

By SUSAN JONES

The 990 form that Pitt and other nonprofits have to file every year with the IRS and make public is a treasure trove of information if you pick your way through it, and not just for the list of highest-paid employees at Pitt (see below).

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer released the report for fiscal year 2018-19 on July 10. Here are some of the tidbits gleaned from the filing:

  • Pitt’s endowment ended the fiscal year at $4.34 billion, up from $4.23 at the beginning of the year.

  • Property, buildings and equipment owned by the University are valued at $1.93 billion.

  • Food service provider Sodexo remained Pitt’s highest-paid independent contractor at $39 million. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, Pitt Dining has switched from Sodexo, with which is partnered for 29 years, to British-based Compass Group. The amount of the new contract has not been released.

  • The other top-paid contractors were all Western Pennsylvania construction companies, led by Mascaro Construction at $28.57 million and PJ Dick Construction at $17.58 million.

  • The University had total revenues of $2.8 billion, which included $845.5 million from tuition and $916.1 million from grants and contracts.

  • Institutional aid was given to 15,427 students, totaling $196.1 million. Another 2,174 students received tuition remission, under Pitt’s educational benefits for employees, at a cost of $26.7 million, and 189 children of Pitt employees attending other universities received $3.4 million in tuition remission.

  • Expenses for legal work topped $10 million, which included just over $1 million paid to Ballard Spahr in the ongoing disputes over graduate student and faculty unionization efforts.

  • Pitt’s biggest research subcontract was once again with Carnegie Mellon University for $7.7 million.

Top paid employees

The single largest expense for the University is for salaries, benefits and other compensation. That totaled $1.42 billion in the latest filing, up from $1.28 billion the previous year. Of that, $6.6 million is compensation for University officers, directors, trustees and key employees.

The 990 form is limited to salaries, benefits and allowances processed through the Pitt payroll system. So, for example, it does not include income that Health Sciences faculty earn for clinical work at the UPMC Health System.

Head football coach Pat Narduzzi topped the list for the third year with a base salary of $2.95 million, almost $1 million more than his base pay for 2017-18 of $1.99 million, and total compensation of just over $4 million.

Former men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings, who was fired in March 2018 received $2.53 million in total compensation for the fiscal year that started in July 2018. Stallings was fired after the second year of his six-year contract. He and Pitt reached an undisclosed settlement for the buyout of his contract. Reports at the time said Stallings was owed $9.4 million for a full buyout, but neither side revealed how much he eventually got.

Former women’s basketball coach Suzie McConnell-Serio also was fired in March 2018 and was due a buyout on her contract, which ran through the 2020-21 season. Her total compensation for FY 2018-19 was $2.15 million.

The 990 list of top paid employees (with base pay and total compensation) for fiscal year 2018-19 includes:

Pat Narduzzi, football coach: $2.95 million / $4.07 million

Jeff Capel, men’s basketball coach, who was hired in March 2018: $2.58 million / $2.66 million

Kevin Stallings, former men’s basketball coach who was replaced in March 2018: $288,044 / $2.53 million

Suzie McConnell-Serio, former women’s basketball coach, who was fired in March 2018: $170,678 / $2.15 million

Arthur Levine, SVC for Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine: $862,900 / $1.03 million

Patrick Gallagher, chancellor: $530,929 / $781,332

Patricia Beeson, former provost and SVC, who stepped down in August 2018: $427,081 / $765,157

Heather Lyke, athletic director: $649,885 / $710,000

Mark Nordenberg, former chancellor and chair of the Institute of Politics: $474,086 / $586,981

Arthur Ramicone, former SVC and CFO, who retired in October 2018: $308,828 / $598,534

Amy Marsh, treasurer until March 31, 2018: $452,282 / $546,823

Kathy Humphrey, SVC for engagement and secretary to the board of trustees: $397,454 / $478,457

Rob Rutenbar, SVC for Research: $397,960 / $467,569

Geovette Washington, SVC and chief legal officer: $402,720 / $461,701

Paul Lawrence, treasurer: $381,630 / $453,242

Greg Schuler, chief investment officer: $182,565 / $450,359

Greg Scott, then-SVC for Business and Operations: $326,429 / $396,448

Ann Cudd, provost and SVC, who started at Pitt on Sept. 1, 2018: $192,401 / $370,912

Kevin Washo Jr., chancellor’s chief of staff and former Pitt trustee: $297,836 / $363,333

B. Jean Ferketish, former secretary Board of Trustees and associate professor School of Education and GSPIA: $143,995 / $168,034

Right-to-know disclosure to the state

The list of the 25 highest-paid non-officers at Pitt for 2018-19, based on the University’s response to the state’s required right-to-know disclosures, was topped by coaches — Narduzzi, Capel, Stalling and McConnell-Serio — and Athletic Director Heather Lyke. The base salary for the other top-paid officials, which also included Mark Nordenberg, were:

*Michael Becich, chairman and professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics, and associate director of the Cancer Institute and Clinical and Translational Science Institute: $655,374

*Kristin Davitt, senior vice chancellor for Philanthropic and Alumni Engagement: $603,267

*A. Everette James, interim dean of the Graduate School of Public Health since July 2019 and director, Health Policy Institute: $592,648

Steven E. Reis, associate vice chancellor for clinical research and director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute: $512,500

Peter Strick, chair, Neurobiology: $507,500

Donald Burke, former dean of the Graduate School of Public Health, who retired in June 2018: $506,917

*Bernard Costello, dean of the School of Dental Medicine: $506,238

*Jonathan Silverstein, chief research informatics officer, Health Sciences and Institute for Precision Medicine: $503,660

*Randy Bates, defensive coordinator, Pitt football: $497,282

Steven Shawn Watson, former offensive coordinator, Pitt football, who was fired in January 2019: $495,833

Lise Vesterlund, professor, Economics: $481,250

David Denis, senior chair and professor of Business Administration: $478,750

Bruce A. Freeman, chair of Pharmacology and Molecular Biology: $457,499

Mark Jay Shlomchik, chair, Department of Immunology: $455,000

Arjang A. Assad, dean, Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business of Administration: $451,290

*Angela Gronenborn, professor and chair, Department of Structural Biology: $450,000

*Peter Wipf, professor of Chemistry, $449,739

Ivet Bahar, chair, Computational & Systems Biology Department, School of Medicine:  $438,628

Dario A. Vignali, vice chair of Department of Immunology: $428,914

*new to the list

Family connections

The IRS requires institutions to report financial information on employees who are related to senior officers, trustees or highest-paid employees.

Receiving compensation from Pitt in 2018-19 were:

  • Anne Bauer, law professor, family member of Trustee Michael A. Bryson: $54,000

  • Neal Becker, senior lecturer in Economics, family member of Provost Ann Cudd: $112,230

  • Anita P. Courcoulas, professor of Surgery, family member of Trustee Ira J. Gumberg: $242,471

  • Will Entrekin, writer, Office of University Communications & Marketing, family member of then-Board of Trustees Chair Eva Tansky Blum: $55,404

  • Sean Gallagher, family member of Chancellor Patrick Gallagher: $59,354

  • John Grefenstette, professor in Graduate School of Public Health, family member of Trustee Edward J. Grefenstette: $67,622

  • David Hickton, law professor, family member of Trustee Dawne Hickton: $343,514

  • Marc Melada, family member of Arthur Levine, who was then SVC for Health Sciences: $39,350

  • Michael Nordenberg, Human Resources, family member of Mark A. Nordenberg, former chancellor: $54,835

  • John C. Pelusi, assistant athletic director, family member of Trustee John H. Pelusi: $83,575

  • Michaela Ramicone, assistant director of digital media for Pitt Athletics, family member of Arthur G. Ramicone, now-retired CFO: $42,229

  • Jason Richards, director of student-athlete development for Pitt Athletics, family member of Trustee Thomas E. Richards, who is now chair of the Board of Trustees: $92,737

  • Elizabeth Scott, family member of then-SVC for Business and Operations Greg Scott: $10,063

  • Norman Wolmark, professor of Surgery, family member of then-Board of Trustees Chair Eva Tansky Blum: $12,816