Lebanese American University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
986001269
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2128702592
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$284,689,357
Expenses
$249,994,456
Assets
$1,329,284,312
Liabilities
$68,549,488

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

64 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MICHEL ELIAS MAWAD (PRESIDENT - PART YEAR)
  • DR CHAOUKI ABDALLAH (PRESIDENT)
  • MR ROY FARAJALLAH MAJDALANI (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION)
  • MR CHARLES GEORGE ABOU RJEILY (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE)
  • DR ELISE SALEM (VICE PRESIDENT, STUDENT DEVELOPMENT)
  • DR TONY GEBRAN ZREIK (VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR MICHEL ELIAS MAWAD (PRESIDENT - PART YEAR): $1,728,510 total reported compensation
  • DR GEORGE ELIAS NASR (PROVOST): $1,225,587 total reported compensation
  • MR ROY FARAJALLAH MAJDALANI (VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION): $940,884 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Lebanese American University (LAU) is to provide excellence in student-centered higher education, foster lifelong learning, and contribute to the cultural and economic development of Lebanon and the region through teaching, research, and service.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provides higher education to 7,809 undergraduate students, 1,000 graduate students, and 275 doctoral-professional practice students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 56% for direct work, and 44% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.2%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.32; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 71.2% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 34 of 34 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $184.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.7M · 64 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.1M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 30 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.