Wake Forest University president salary and executive pay
Wake Forest University paid its president, Susan R Wente PhD, $1,883,267 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $83,891 (4.7%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $843,176,173, up 10.3% from $764,367,570 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. Wake Forest University ranks 42nd of 137 universities on this site by president's pay. Wake Forest University has 5 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2021 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 56-0532138, Winstonsalem, NC.
President, fiscal year ending June 2025
$1,883,267
Highest-paid person, fiscal year ending June 2025
$7,634,720Julie A Freischlag MDEVP Health Aff.
- Total revenue
- $843,176,173
- Pay vs. peers
- Higher than 70%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202601359349305890.View the filing
Peers: the 131 other universities on this site. Ranked 40th of 132 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.22% 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, 14 people were paid more than $500,000, 9 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Julie A Freischlag MDEVP Health Aff. | $7,634,720 |
| David P ClawsonFootball Coach | $4,951,073 |
| Steve ForbesMen's BktBall Co | $2,586,667 |
| Susan R Wente PhD President President & Trustee | $1,883,267 |
| John A CurrieDirector of Athletics | $1,377,977 |
Also paid on the latest return: Warren D Ruggiero (F'ball Offensive Coordinat), $1,146,966; Michele Gillespie PhD (Provost), $1,127,825; Jacqueline A Travisano EdD (EVP, CFO, Treas), $1,096,045; Charles L Iacovou PhD (Dean, School of Profession), $1,007,067; Mark A Petersen (SVP - Advancement), $962,796; Brad Lambert (F'ball Defensive Coordinat), $936,833; Brian A White (VP, Corp. Sec, G.C.), $740,874; Annette Ranft PhD (Dean, School of Business), $626,025; Jackie Krasas PhD (Dean, Wake Forest College), $555,165; B Hofler Milam (Former EVP, CFO, Treas), $496,274; J Reid Morgan (Former S.VP, Sec, G.C.), $469,700; Anthony P Marsh PhD (Senior Associate Dean, Wake Forest College), $314,630; Rogan Kersh PhD (Former Provost), $240,987.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt (Board Chair), Curtis C Farmer (Board Vice Chair), Matthew A King (Board Vice Chair), Alexander Acquavella (Trustee), Diana M Adams (Comm Vice Chair), Lynn C Baranski (Trustee), Shelmer D Blackburn Jr (Committee Chair), Darlene Boytell-Perez (Trustee), Rich Brock (Trustee), Peter C Brockway (Comm Vice Chair), Thomas W Bunn (Comm Vice Chair), Jocelyn Burton (Committee Chair), Peter M Carlson (Trustee), David F Couch (Trustee), Matthew Starbuck Crawford (Comm Vice Chair), Jermyn M Davis (Committee Chair), James E Dixon (Trustee), The Honorable Donna F Edwards (Trustee), Cantey M Ergen (Committee Chair), Frederick W Eubank II (Comm Vice Chair), Lisbeth Clark Evans (Trustee), Helen Hough Feinberg (Trustee), Anil Rai Gupta (Trustee), Julie Ann Mullen Hartman (Trustee), Marybeth Torbet Hays (Comm Vice Chair), and 23 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 | Susan R Wente PhD President President & Trustee | $1,883,267 | $843,176,173 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | Susan R Wente PhD President President & Trustee | $1,799,376 | $764,367,570 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | Susan R Wente PhD President President & Trustee | $1,712,240 | $686,860,190 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | Susan R Wente PhD President President & Trustee | $848,833 | $715,438,504 | Filing |
| Jun 2021 | Nathan O Hatch PhD President Pres. & Trustee | $1,753,953 | $681,736,258 | 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 202601359349305890.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Related | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Julie A Freischlag MD*EVP Health Aff. | $0 | $7,594,629 | $40,091 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $2,476,070 | $4,358,126 | $760,433 | $19,092 | $20,999 | $7,634,720 | |||
| David P ClawsonFootball Coach | $4,869,999 | $0 | $81,074 | $4,763,190 | $30,000 | $76,809 | $34,500 | $46,574 | $4,951,073 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| Steve ForbesMen's BktBall Co | $2,515,493 | $0 | $71,174 | $2,387,140 | $92,000 | $36,353 | $25,875 | $45,299 | $2,586,667 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| Susan R Wente PhDPresident & Trustee | $1,519,832 | $0 | $363,435 | $1,129,530 | $322,500 | $67,802 | $288,531 | $74,904 | $1,883,267 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
| John A CurrieDirector of Athletics | $1,254,401 | $0 | $123,576 | $984,090 | $240,000 | $30,311 | $75,875 | $47,701 | $1,377,977 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
These figures come from Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest University compares
Ranked 42nd of 137 universities by president's pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 41st, Chapman University, $1,897,658
- Next in this ranking: 43rd, Drexel University, $1,880,879
Closest in revenue among the universities on this site:
St. John's University (New York)$0 (President), fiscal year ending May 2025
Marquette University$869,890 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University$1,048,438 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Creighton University$0 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
University of Denver$1,209,539 (Chancellor), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Common questions
Susan R Wente PhD (President & Trustee) was paid $1,883,267 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $1,519,832 from Wake Forest University and $363,435 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The highest-paid person on the latest return was Julie A Freischlag MD (EVP Health Aff.), at $7,634,720. That is $5,751,453 more than the president, Susan R Wente PhD.
Wake Forest University paid its president, Susan R Wente PhD, $1,883,267 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $83,891 (4.7%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2021, when the president was Nathan O Hatch PhD, paid $1,753,953. By fiscal year end: June 2021, $1,753,953 (Nathan O Hatch PhD); June 2022, $848,833 (Susan R Wente PhD); June 2023, $1,712,240; June 2024, $1,799,376; June 2025, $1,883,267.
Wake Forest University's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $786,273,688 and total revenue of $843,176,173 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $56,902,485. Expenses were $705,687,576 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they rose 11.4%. The president's pay of $1,883,267 equals 0.24% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 5 Form 990 returns Wake Forest University filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2021 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on May 15, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.