Pepperdine University president salary and executive pay
Pepperdine University paid its president, James Gash, $1,323,005 for the fiscal year ending July 2025. That is up $121,456 (10.1%) from the fiscal year ending July 2024. Total revenue on that return was $755,116,691, up 7.0% from $705,484,656 for the fiscal year ending July 2024. Pepperdine University ranks 78th of 137 universities on this site by president's pay. Pepperdine University has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 95-1644037, Malibu, CA.
President, fiscal year ending July 2025
$1,323,005
Also listed with a president, chancellor or chief executive title on this filing: Sara Young Jackson (CHANCELLOR), $560,065.
- Total revenue
- $755,116,691
- Pay vs. peers
- Higher than 58%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending July 2025, IRS object ID 202611539349301221.View the filing
Peers: the 131 other universities on this site. Ranked 55th of 132 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.18% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 8 people were paid more than $500,000, 1 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| James Gash President PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,323,005 |
| Jay BrewsterPROVOST & CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER | $855,535 |
| Phil PhillipsEXEC. VICE PRESIDENT | $716,982 |
| Edmund SchillingHEAD COACH, BASKETBALL | $579,291 |
| Paul CaronDEAN, CARUSO SCHOOL OF LAW | $574,487 |
Also paid on the latest return: Sara Young Jackson (CHANCELLOR), $560,065; Kiron Skinner (PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY), $527,363; Jeffrey Rohde (CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER), $524,413; Michael Feltner (DEAN OF COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCE), $489,278; Sara Cosentino (VP FOR ADV & CHIEF DEV OFFICER), $480,989; Lorenzo Romar (HEAD COACH, BASKETBALL), $479,286; Deborah Crown (DEAN OF PGBS), $465,831; Greg Ramirez (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER), $464,238; Nicolle Taylor (SENIOR VP, COO), $461,094; Damon Sean Burnett (SVP, INTEGRATED MARKETING & CMO), $460,011; Daniel Dewalt (VP & CHIEF OF STAFF), $458,169; Larry Perrin (SVP STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION), $454,275; Lee Kats (DEAN, SEAVER FROM 3/25), $452,376; Farzin Madjidi (DEAN, GSEP), $423,988; Timothy Spivey (VP SPIRITUAL LIFE), $412,278; and 14 more.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Dee Anna Smith (CHAIR, REGENT), Alan Beard (REGENT THRU 5/25), Anna Mergele (REGENT), Christopher Rudd (REGENT), Dale Brown (REGENT), Dennis Lewis (REGENT), Eric Wolford (REGENT), Frederick Ricker (VICE CHAIR, REGENT), Jay Welker (SECRETARY, REGENT), Jeremy Johnson (REGENT), John Lewis (ASSISTANT SECRETARY, REGENT), John Plueger (REGENT), Kasey Pipes (REGENT), Kimberly Lindley (REGENT), Michael Okabayashi (REGENT), Peter Johnson Jr (REGENT), R Charles Walker Jr (REGENT), Seth Haye (REGENT), Shelle Ensio (REGENT), Stephen Stewart (REGENT), Virginia Milstead (REGENT).
President's pay by year
Each row is the president on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2025 | James Gash President PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,323,005 | $755,116,691 | Filing |
| Jul 2024 | James Gash President PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,201,549 | $705,484,656 | Filing |
| Jul 2023 | James Gash President PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,118,692 | $699,813,135 | Filing |
| Jul 2022 | James Gash President PRESIDENT & CEO | $928,829 | $719,080,959 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending July 2025.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending July 2025, IRS object ID 202611539349301221.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| James GashPRESIDENT & CEO | $917,815 | $405,190 | $562,795 | $350,000 | $5,020 | $34,500 | $370,690 | $1,323,005 |
| Jay BrewsterPROVOST & CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER | $473,194 | $382,341 | $395,345 | $74,000 | $3,849 | $27,521 | $354,820 | $855,535 |
| Phil PhillipsEXEC. VICE PRESIDENT | $440,255 | $276,727 | $325,410 | $90,000 | $24,845 | $65,000 | $211,727 | $716,982 |
| Edmund SchillingHEAD COACH, BASKETBALL | $558,269 | $21,022 | $474,464 | $25,000 | $58,805 | $0 | $21,022 | $579,291 |
| Paul CaronDEAN, CARUSO SCHOOL OF LAW | $353,109 | $221,378 | $254,699 | $68,000 | $30,410 | $88,000 | $133,378 | $574,487 |
These figures come from Pepperdine University's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How Pepperdine University compares
Ranked 78th of 137 universities by president's pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 77th, Hillsdale College, $1,325,414
- Next in this ranking: 79th, Quinnipiac University, $1,313,227
Closest in revenue among the universities on this site:
Chapman University$1,897,658 (President), fiscal year ending May 2025
University of San Diego$1,682,191 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Amherst College$846,242 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Hofstra University$1,339,336 (President), fiscal year ending Aug 2025
Loyola Marymount University$1,237,126 (President), fiscal year ending May 2025
Common questions
James Gash (PRESIDENT & CEO) was paid $1,323,005 for the fiscal year ending July 2025: $917,815 from Pepperdine University and $405,190 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The president, James Gash, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $1,323,005.
Pepperdine University paid its president, James Gash, $1,323,005 for the fiscal year ending July 2025. That is up $121,456 (10.1%) from the fiscal year ending July 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending July 2022, when the president was James Gash, paid $928,829. By fiscal year end: July 2022, $928,829 (James Gash); July 2023, $1,118,692; July 2024, $1,201,549; July 2025, $1,323,005.
Pepperdine University's return for the fiscal year ending July 2025 reports total expenses of $666,452,572 and total revenue of $755,116,691 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $88,664,119. Expenses were $664,734,965 for the fiscal year ending July 2024, so they rose 0.3%. The president's pay of $1,323,005 equals 0.20% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns Pepperdine University filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on June 2, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending July 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.