Sacred Heart University

Legal name: Sacred Heart University Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
060776644
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Fairfield, CT, United States
Phone
203-371-7999
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$575,678,695
Expenses
$504,144,257
Assets
$1,533,570,955
Liabilities
$558,042,932

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN J PETILLO PHD (PRESIDENT)
  • PETER WARD (SR VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE)
  • MICHAEL IANNAZZI (SR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADMINISTRATION)
  • ROBERT HARDY (VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES)
  • MICHAEL ALFANO (Vice President for Strategic Initiatives)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN J PETILLO PHD (PRESIDENT): $1,524,281 total reported compensation
  • ROBIN CAUTIN (PROVOST): $571,759 total reported compensation
  • PETER WARD (SR VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE): $556,749 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Sacred Heart University is a co-educational institution of higher learning offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees, with a commitment to leadership in Catholic higher education. The special education cross endorsement track is designed for candidates who want to support students with exceptionalities (i.e., learning, emotional, orthopedic, language, and/or intellectual disabilities, autism, visual or hearing impairment, etc.) in general and special education settings. This track is available for students who are majoring in interdisciplinary studies and then pursuing the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in elementary education. The majority of the courses that count toward cross endorsement are taken in the fifth year of study. Upon completion of the 30-credit course and clinical requirements, candidates will be eligible to apply for cross endorsement in Comprehensi.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sacred heart university is committed to meeting the needs of its student body by offering a wide range of services that support student success and enhance the overall student experience. Through academic advising, career services, the student success center, the office of accessibility, the maureen hamilton wellness center, and student life programs, the university provides resources aligned with its mission. The university also promotes active learning beyond the classroom through athletics, fraternity and sorority life, performing arts, and leadership opportunities that help students grow, build confidence, and develop leadership skills. Together, these efforts support a holistic student experience and prepare students to succeed during their time at the university and beyond.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 92% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 48th 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: 12.4%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.04; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.3%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 79.1% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $446.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.5M · 36 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $51.8M reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.