Syracuse University saw its endowment plummet by nearly $300 million in the 2008-09 school year — a fall of about 33 percent, according to documents filed last week with the federal government. The fall was caused by the global recession and the tanking stock market that hit bottom that year, said university spokesman Kevin Quinn. The drop in the...
The Hall of Languages building at Syracuse University.
Syracuse University saw its endowment plummet by nearly $300 million in the 2008-09 school year — a fall of about 33 percent, according to documents filed last week with the federal government.
The fall was caused by the global recession and the tanking stock market that hit bottom that year, said university spokesman Kevin Quinn.
The drop in the endowment, and the income it generates, led to a mid-year cut of 119 jobs in January 2009, Quinn said.
Top 10 best-compensated SU employees
Total compensation including salary, benefit plans, housing and other direct benefits from the university.
1. Gregory M. Robinson (football coach): $2,214,505*
2. Nancy Cantor (chancellor, president): $1,386,464**
3. James A. Boeheim (men’s basketball coach): $1,351,751
4. Daryl J. Gross (director of athletics): $590,869
5. Louis G. Marcoccia (CFO): $580,902
6. Eric F. Spina (vice chancellor/provost): $514,042
7. Melvin T. Stith (Whitman School dean): $461,660
8. Kenneth A. Shaw (chancellor emeritus, professor): $451,133
9. Peter D. Blanck (university professor): $444,643
10. Thomas Walsh (sr. vp, institutional advancement): $427,753
*Includes $1 million severance
** Includes $500,000 contract completion bonus; Cantor donated this to the universityThe financial data is contained in the university’s Form 990, which nonprofit organizations must file with the Internal Revenue Service each year. It covered the period from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009. The form was due in November, but SU received an extension and filed it May 17.
Since June, Quinn said, the endowment’s value has climbed back up by 17 percent. The endowment — a collection of donations that represents the bulk of SU’s total assets, stood at about $770 million in March, Quinn said. It had hit $1 billion in 2007 at the height of the stock market bubble.
Other highlights of the report:
Ö¤Expenses in 2008-09 were up by $57 million from the previous year, the result of increases in salaries, benefits, energy costs and student aid, Quinn said. SU’s total spending was $934 million in 2008-09; it’s expected to be just over $1 billion in the 2010-2011 year.
SU put $217 million toward student aid that year, and has increased that to $242 million for this year, he said, explaining efforts were bumped up in response to middle-class families’ needs and to reduce the loan burden on lower-income families.
Ö¤Chancellor Nancy Cantor made about $1.4 million in 2008, including a $500,000 bonus that she then donated to the university. It’s the same bonus reported by The Post-Standard in 2008, but it had to be claimed for the IRS again because the federal government changed to calendar-year reporting instead of using the academic year. Cantor’s bonus was for completing her original contract.
Ö¤Football coach Greg Robinson, who compiled a record of 10 wins and 37 losses, received about $2 million — $1 million for coaching his fourth season and another $1 million for not coaching the fifth season of his five-year contract.
The report does not contain any salary information for the new coach, Doug Marrone, who was hired in December 2008. Quinn declined to discuss Marrone’s salary.
Ö¤Athletic Director Darryl Gross and basketball coach Jim Boeheim saw big jumps in compensation. Gross received a total of $590,869 — a 19 percent increase. That’s because it was Gross’ first year receiving money from International Sports Properties, a private company that handles advertising and radio rights for colleges across the country.
Ö¤SU paid only a portion of the salaries of Robinson, Gross and Boeheim. All three received part of their pay from International Sports Properties. Boeheim, for example, was paid about $386,000 from SU and about $580,600 from ISP. He also earned nearly $167,000 from running a summer basketball camp.
Ö¤Former Chancellor Kenneth “Buzz” Shaw, six years after stepping down, was still paid $451,133 in total compensation. He teaches leadership in SU’s Whitman School of Management.
“His contract allowed him to go back to the faculty for a certain number of years after he left as chancellor,” Quinn said. Shaw is moving to Illinois this year and will likely stop teaching at SU in the fall.
Contact Glenn Coin at gcoin@syracuse.com or 470-3251.