The first page of Pepperdine’s most recently filed IRS Form 990.
Pepperdine released its 2024 Internal Revenue Service Form 990, a financial document all tax-exempt organizations are required to file annually and publicly disclose, according to the IRS. The document contains information about Pepperdine’s finances between Aug. 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024, including its top-paid employees.
The University’s total revenue for the fiscal year ending July 2024 was $705,484,656, a nearly $5.5 million increase from the previous year, but a decrease from three years prior, where it brought in $724,218,664.
Expenses rose to $664,734,965, in line with the continuous upward trend the University has maintained for decades. The fiscal year ending July 2023 saw $649,440,096 in expenses.
On the other hand, the University’s net income has been dropping since the July 2021 fiscal year, where Pepperdine made $164,645,667. The July 2024 fiscal year ended with $40,749,691 in net income. However, this number is still greater than the July 2019 fiscal year, the last period entirely outside of President Jim Gash’s tenure, where Pepperdine had a net income of $22,081,893.
Top Paid Employees
As with previous years, Gash came in as the top earner between 2023 and 2024, earning $793,965 in compensation from Pepperdine and an estimated $407,584 in other compensation, which includes retirement and other benefits. Combined, Gash made $1,201,549.
Infographic by Betsy Burrow
Provost Jay Brewster came in second with a total compensation of $892,831, surpassing former Head Basketball Coach Lorenzo Romar for the first time. However, Romar still had the highest base compensation of any Pepperdine employee: $762,012. Romar left Pepperdine in March 2024, according to previous Graphic reporting.
Kiron Skinner, a School of Public Policy professor, appeared in the top paid employees for the first time as the eighth highest earner, making a total of $523,081. Skinner was appointed as the Taube Family Chair of International Relations and Politics at SPP in fall 2024, a position endowed by the Taube Family Foundation. She authored the State Department chapter in the ninth edition of the Heritage Foundation’s “Mandate for Leadership,” which provides the policy agenda for Project 2025, according to the book.
Pepperdine employed 5,165 individuals — including student workers — during the July 2024 fiscal year.
Other Figures
Pepperdine made $31,484,848 in contributions and grants, a decrease from $44,076,355 in the July 2023 fiscal year and $71,538,193 in the July 2022 fiscal year. The University made $5,287,365 in government grants.
Among its revenue, the University made $507,785,567 in student tuition and fees and $49,847,099 in room and board, which combined add up to about 79% of its total revenue.
Expenses related to student services, which include a wide range of items such as transportation, financial aid and the maintenance of housing facilities, added up to $230,250,328. Expenses related to academic support services such as the libraries, OneStop and Student Health Center cost $136,491,340. Instruction and research expenses cost $121,726,825.
Pepperdine also raised its advertising expenses to $8,193,423, an increase from the previous fiscal year, where it spent $6,735,929. The University’s U.S. News & World Report ranking dropped from 55th to 76th two months into the July 2024 fiscal year, according to previous Graphic reporting.
As for independent contractors, Pepperdine paid $11,901,564 to food service provider Bon Appetit, $67,990,412 to e-learning corporation 2U and a combined $33,902,867 between two construction groups.
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