Rockefeller University president salary and executive pay
Rockefeller University paid its president, Richard P Lifton MD PhD, $1,593,942 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $45,706 (3.0%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $458,410,394, down 8.5% from $501,030,765 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. Rockefeller University ranks 59th of 137 universities on this site by president's pay. Rockefeller University has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 13-1624158, New York, NY.
President, fiscal year ending June 2025
$1,593,942
Highest-paid person, fiscal year ending June 2025
$2,257,458Paula VolentCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER
- Total revenue
- $458,410,394
- Pay vs. peers
- Higher than 85%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202630559349300433.View the filing
Peers: the 131 other universities on this site. Ranked 20th of 132 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.35% 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, 17 people were paid more than $500,000, 2 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Paula VolentCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER | $2,257,458 |
| Richard P Lifton MD PhD President PRESIDENT | $1,593,942 |
| Betty Y Chen - ManagingDIRECTOR, INVESTMENTS (THRU 10/24) | $967,093 |
| Maren ImhoffSVP, DEVELOPMENT | $929,305 |
| Barry CollerVP & PHYSICIAN-IN-CHIEF | $840,772 |
Also paid on the latest return: Timothy O'Connor (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT), $827,667; Michael Young (VP, ACADEMIC AFFAIRS (THRU 8/31/23)), $785,907; Deborah Yeoh (VP & GENERAL COUNSEL), $752,492; Charles M Rice (PROFESSOR, HEAD OF LABORATORY), $711,836; Timothy Stearns (VP, EDUCATION AFFAIRS), $687,865; Romayne L Botti (VP, FINANCE & TREASURER), $687,070; Nathaniel Heintz (PROFESSOR, HEAD OF LABORATORY), $683,784; Jeanne Farrell (AVP, TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER), $651,173; Virginia Huffman (VP, HUMAN RESOURCES), $641,824; Titia De Lange (PROFESSOR, HEAD OF LABORATORY), $633,417; Cornelia Bargmann (VP, ACADEMIC AFFAIRS), $617,752; Sidney Strickland (VP, EDUCATION AFFAIRS (THRU 8/31/22)), $605,994; Anthony Carvalloza - Chief (INFORMATION OFFICER (FROM 11/13/24)), $492,214; Kretina Cook (ASST. VP, FINANCE), $434,209; Ashton Murray (VP UNIV. LIFE & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT), $430,274.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Karen Akinsanya PhD (TRUSTEE), Holly Andersen MD (TRUSTEE), Scott Kh Bessent (TRUSTEE (UNTIL 1/15/25)), Debra Black (TRUSTEE), Valentino Carlotti (TRUSTEE), Eli Casdin (TRUSTEE), Anna Chapman MD (TRUSTEE), Caroline Curry (TRUSTEE), James G Dinan (TRUSTEE), Andreas C Dracopoulos (TRUSTEE, VICE CHAIR), Cheryl Cohen Effron (TRUSTEE), Anne Chandler Bass Evans (TRUSTEES), Katherine G Farley (TRUSTEE (UNTIL 5/28/25)), Michael D Fascitelli (TRUSTEE, VICE CHAIR), Lee Fixel (TRUSTEE), William E Ford (TRUSTEE, CHAIR), Daniel Gilmer (TRUSTEE (FROM 3/12/25)), Diane Halvorsen (TRUSTEE), Stewart J Hen (TRUSTEE (FROM 11/13/24)), Michael B Hoffman (TRUSTEE), Jessica Hopfield PhD (TRUSTEE), Sandra J Horbach (TRUSTEE), William I Huyett (TRUSTEE), Rebecca A John (TRUSTEE), Paula Johnson MD (TRUSTEE), and 24 more.
President's pay by year
Each row is the president on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | Richard P Lifton MD PhD President PRESIDENT | $1,593,942 | $458,410,394 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | Richard P Lifton MD PhD President President | $1,548,236 | $501,030,765 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | Richard P Lifton MD PhD President President | $1,478,445 | $514,627,473 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | Richard P Lifton MD PhD President President | $1,479,521 | $535,346,959 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending June 2025.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202630559349300433.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Paula VolentCHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER | $1,928,555 | $328,903 | $1,078,988 | $695,289 | $154,278 | $297,134 | $31,769 | $2,257,458 |
| Richard P Lifton MD PhDPRESIDENT | $1,308,593 | $285,349 | $1,137,539 | $0 | $171,054 | $59,356 | $225,993 | $1,593,942 |
| Betty Y Chen - ManagingDIRECTOR, INVESTMENTS (THRU 10/24) | $926,322 | $40,771 | $368,572 | $500,000 | $57,750 | $0 | $40,771 | $967,093 |
| Maren ImhoffSVP, DEVELOPMENT | $803,309 | $125,996 | $677,169 | $50,000 | $76,140 | $59,216 | $66,780 | $929,305 |
| Barry CollerVP & PHYSICIAN-IN-CHIEF | $716,817 | $123,955 | $643,884 | $0 | $72,933 | $59,245 | $64,710 | $840,772 |
These figures come from Rockefeller 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 Rockefeller University compares
Ranked 59th of 137 universities by president's pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 58th, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, $1,609,483
- Next in this ranking: 60th, New York Institute of Technology, $1,586,183
Closest in revenue among the universities on this site:
Berklee College of Music$644,731 (President), fiscal year ending May 2025
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences$1,790,552 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Bowdoin College$1,120,866 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Illinois Institute of Technology$865,337 (President), fiscal year ending May 2025
Yeshiva University$1,186,985 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Common questions
Richard P Lifton MD PhD (PRESIDENT) was paid $1,593,942 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $1,308,593 from Rockefeller University and $285,349 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The highest-paid person on the latest return was Paula Volent (CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER), at $2,257,458. That is $663,516 more than the president, Richard P Lifton MD PhD.
Rockefeller University paid its president, Richard P Lifton MD PhD, $1,593,942 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $45,706 (3.0%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the president was Richard P Lifton MD PhD, paid $1,479,521. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $1,479,521 (Richard P Lifton MD PhD); June 2023, $1,478,445; June 2024, $1,548,236; June 2025, $1,593,942.
Rockefeller University's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $504,447,980 and total revenue of $458,410,394 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so expenses exceeded revenue by $46,037,586. Expenses were $571,330,484 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they fell 11.7%. The president's pay of $1,593,942 equals 0.32% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns Rockefeller University filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on February 24, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.