Faust Made $1.7 Million in 2017, Bacow's Salary As President Unknown Until 2020

Former University President Drew G. Faust made just over $1.7 million in compensation in 2017, her last full year as Harvard’s president. While Faust’s tenure ended last June, current University President Lawrence S. Bacow’s compensation will not be released for another year.

Faust’s 2017 pay included $961,952 in base salary, $191,960 in nontaxable benefits, $534,140 in retirement and other deferred compensation, and $19,018 in other reportable compensation. The Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — decides each year how much deferred compensation will be paid to the University President. In 2017, the Corporation voted to credit Faust with $500,000, an increase from the $400,000 credited to her in 2016 and $300,000 in 2015.

Faust earned a total of $1.5 million in 2016 and $1.4 million in 2015.

Compensation for Faust and other top University officers was released Friday as part of the University’s Form 990 tax filings, which the Internal Revenue Service requires tax-exempt entities to submit annually.

Former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Michael D. Smith, who stepped down at the end of the 2017-2018 school year, earned $730,382 in 2017. His successor — Claudine Gay — will not have her compensation in that role reported until next year. University Provost Alan M. Garber ’76 made $880,900 in total compensation in 2017.

The University’s three highest compensated faculty members all teach at Harvard Business School, as was the case last year. The highest compensated, Lynda M. Applegate, earned $1,495,642 in total compensation in 2017. More than $1,000,000 of Applegate’s pay and significant sums of other top-earning faculty is designated as “other reportable compensation” which can come from a variety of sources including deferred pay and awards for longevity of service. The tax form does not note the specific source.

Once again, the deans of the Business School and Medical School were Harvard’s highest-paid deans in 2017. In a reversal from 2016, however, 2017 compensation for the Medical School’s dean surpassed that of the Business School’s dean. Medical School Dean George Q. Daley ’82 made $841,952 in his first full year in the role, while Business School Dean Nitin Nohria earned $839,358.

Top executives at Harvard Management Company, which oversees the University’s endowment, earned significantly more than Faust and other University executives. HMC CEO N.P. “Narv” Narvekar earned just over $9.25 million in his first full year at Harvard. Compensation for Narvekar, who joined Harvard in late 2016 after managing Columbia’s endowment, includes $6.5 million in base pay and roughly $2.75 million to compensate for Narvekar’s departure from Columbia.

Former HMC real estate managing director Daniel W. Cummings earned $10,057,908 in 2017, a significant decrease from his $23,853,527 salary in 2016. His unusually high salary in 2016 included roughly $12.3 million vested in accordance with his tenure at HMC. Cummings and the HMC real estate team joined Bain Capital in January 2018, but continue to manage Harvard’s real estate holdings.

The six highest-paid HMC officials earned nearly $40.5 million combined, dwarfing the combined compensation of other top-earning University-level administrators. The 2017 fiscal year marked the last year that HMC employees received bonuses based on the success of their asset class performance. Starting fiscal year 2018, bonuses will be based on the overall performance of Harvard’s $39 billion endowment, which has continually underperformed its Ivy League peers.

Both the University and HMC have seen significant employee turnover since 2017, and as such, many current leaders — like Bacow, Gay, and HMC COO Sanjeev Daga — do not yet have reported earnings.

Correction: May 13, 2019

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Lynda Applegate's compensation was $1,495,676. In fact, she earned $1,495,642.

Clarification: May 13, 2019

A previous version of this article referred to the Harvard Business School faculty as some of the "highest paid" in the University. To clarify, the University refers to them as some of the "highest compensated" due to the way their compensation is reported.

—Staff writer Cindy H. Zhang can be reached at cindy.zhang@thecrimson.com.