Western Governors University president salary and executive pay
WGU paid its president, Scott Pulsipher, $2,131,084 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is down $137,033 (6.0%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $1,684,644,684, up 15.2% from $1,462,468,978 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. WGU ranks 29th of 137 universities on this site by president's pay. All of Scott Pulsipher's reportable pay, $2,064,774, came from related organizations (column E). WGU has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. Also known as WGU.
See also: WGU Corporation, which reports the same executives on its own return.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 47-4365018, Salt Lake City, UT.
President, fiscal year ending June 2025
$2,131,084
- Total revenue
- $1,684,644,684
- Pay vs. peers
- Higher than 38%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202611349349312706.View the filing
Peers: the 131 other universities on this site. Ranked 81st of 132 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.13% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
WGU's return reports its president's pay as pay from related organizations (Part VII column E).
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 9 people were paid more than $500,000, 2 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Scott Pulsipher President TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT | $2,131,084 |
| David GrowCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | $1,029,671 |
| Nadeem SyedCFO & TREASURER | $850,850 |
| Courtney Hills McBethCHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER & PROVOST | $692,739 |
| Keith SmithSR VP, LEAVITT SCHOOL OF HEALTH (THRU 8/2024) | $638,662 |
Also paid on the latest return: Mitsu Frazier (SR VP, BUSINESS COLLEGE), $605,044; Deborah Fowler (SR VP, ACADEMIC DELIVERY), $594,138; Robert Hunt (SR VP, GENERAL COUNSEL/SECRETARY), $554,087; David Perkinson (SR VP, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT), $534,704; Gene Hayes (SR VP, REGIONAL OPERATIONS), $495,151; Stacey Ludwig Johnson (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORK-BASED PATHWAYS), $487,785; Paul Bingham (SR VP, SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY), $471,119; Scott Neuner (SR VP, MARKETING), $438,300; Sarah Demark (VICE PROVOST), $419,485; Kimberly Estep (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT), $396,293; Richard Benbow (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT), $385,557; Joseph Dery (VP, DEAN - SCHOOL OF TECH (THRU 2/2025)), $358,733; Tonya Drake (REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT), $354,620.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: Joe Fuller (CHAIR), Lenny Mendonca (VICE-CHAIR), April Chou (TRUSTEE), Cole Clark (TRUSTEE), David Simmons (TRUSTEE (EMERITUS AS OF 11/2024)), Dr Harold Lee Martin Sr (TRUSTEE (AS OF 4/2025)), Dr Ruth Watkins (TRUSTEE (AS OF 11/2024)), Dwana Franklin-Davis (TRUSTEE), Eloy Ortiz Oakley (TRUSTEE), Gov Eric Holcomb (TRUSTEE (THRU 11/2024)), Gov Jared Polis (TRUSTEE), Jessie Wooley-Wilson (TRUSTEE), John W Bluford III (TRUSTEE (THRU 11/2024)), Kerry Healy (TRUSTEE (THRU 01/2025)), Talia Milgrom-Elcott (TRUSTEE).
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 | Scott Pulsipher President TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT | $2,131,084 | $1,684,644,684 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | Scott Pulsipher President TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT | $2,268,117 | $1,462,468,978 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | Scott Pulsipher President DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT | $1,976,036 | $654,374,330 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | Scott Pulsipher President DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT | $1,859,938 | $79,386,691 | 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 202611349349312706.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Related | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Scott Pulsipher*TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT | $0 | $2,064,774 | $66,310 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $847,019 | $675,000 | $542,755 | $30,500 | $35,810 | $2,131,084 | |||
| David Grow*CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | $0 | $954,642 | $75,029 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $549,884 | $219,750 | $185,008 | $30,500 | $44,529 | $1,029,671 | |||
| Nadeem Syed*CFO & TREASURER | $0 | $796,190 | $54,660 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $514,209 | $197,125 | $84,856 | $23,000 | $31,660 | $850,850 | |||
| Courtney Hills McBeth*CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER & PROVOST | $0 | $640,469 | $52,270 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $451,294 | $189,175 | $0 | $18,730 | $33,540 | $692,739 | |||
| Keith SmithSR VP, LEAVITT SCHOOL OF HEALTH (THRU 8/2024) | $584,669 | $0 | $53,993 | $584,669 | $0 | $0 | $23,853 | $30,140 | $638,662 |
| Schedule J, from related orgs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |||
These figures come from WGU'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 WGU compares
Ranked 29th of 137 universities by president's pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 28th, Case Western Reserve University, $2,148,720
- Next in this ranking: 30th, Dartmouth College, $2,108,837
Closest in revenue among the universities on this site:
University of Delaware$1,523,193 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Rice University$2,074,566 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Case Western Reserve University$2,148,720 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Southern New Hampshire University$1,071,826 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Medical College of Wisconsin$1,947,303 (President), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
Common questions
Scott Pulsipher (TRUSTEE/PRESIDENT) was paid $2,131,084 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $0 from WGU, $2,064,774 from related organizations and $66,310 in other compensation (Part VII columns D, E and F).
The president, Scott Pulsipher, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $2,131,084.
WGU paid its president, Scott Pulsipher, $2,131,084 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is down $137,033 (6.0%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the president was Scott Pulsipher, paid $1,859,938. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $1,859,938 (Scott Pulsipher); June 2023, $1,976,036; June 2024, $2,268,117; June 2025, $2,131,084.
WGU's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $1,527,430,486 and total revenue of $1,684,644,684 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $157,214,198. Expenses were $1,280,651,233 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they rose 19.3%. The president's pay of $2,131,084 equals 0.14% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns Western Governors University filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on May 14, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.