University Politics

Syracuse University’s IRS form details university’s top earners

Daily Orange File Photo

Syracuse University's endowment dipped for the second year in a row in 2015.

Syracuse University’s highest paid employees in 2015 were men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim, former football head coach Scott Shafer and Chancellor Kent Syverud, according to an Internal Revenue Service tax form obtained by The Daily Orange Friday.

The salaries of SU’s top earners, the university’s endowment and details about SU’s revenue are disclosed in the university’s 990 form, a document nonprofit organizations must file with the IRS on an annual basis. The document obtained by The Daily Orange on Friday provides information covering the 2015 calendar year.

According to the document, Boeheim remained the university’s highest paid employee that year, earning $2,151,736 — up $108,066 from the previous year. Quentin Hillsman, SU’s women’s basketball head coach, made $634,235.

Shafer — the university’s second highest paid employee — earned $1,649,045 in 2015. His earnings saw an $126,099 increase from the previous year.

Syverud’s salary in 2015 was $684,868 with $231,742 in non-cash compensation and benefits. According to a document provided by Kevin Quinn, SU’s senior vice president for public affairs, parts of the non-cash benefits — which include retirement compensation accrued over time — will not be paid to Syverud until the conclusion of his contract. In addition, the estimated value of the Syracuse and New York City housing Syverud is contractually obligated to occupy is also included as a non-cash benefit.



In total, Syverud earned $916,610 in cash and non-cash compensation in 2015 — $2,385 more than his first year as chancellor. He was the university’s third highest paid employee.

According to the document provided by Quinn, Syrverud’s salary was 26 percent less than the average for large, private research institutions like SU. His total compensation was 44 percent less than the average in 2014.

SU’s endowment totaled $1,130,615,590 in 2015, a decrease of $9,624,689 from the previous year. This was the second year in a row that the endowment decreased after four years of growth between 2010 and 2014.

The university’s research revenue in 2015 was $803,402,823, with almost $80 million in sponsored research. SU was given a top tier ranking for research activity in 2016.

—News Editor Sara Swann contributed reporting to this article.





Top Stories