Saint Leo University
Legal name: Saint Leo University Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 591237047
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- St. Leo, FL, US
- Phone
- (352) 588-8857
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $145,723,792
- Expenses
- $147,322,860
- Assets
- $235,562,087
- Liabilities
- $91,519,474
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
39 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- EDWARD DADEZ (PRESIDENT (THRU 02/25))
- STACY GATO (VICE PRESIDENT (THRU 04/25))
Highest reported compensation
- EDWARD DADEZ (PRESIDENT (THRU 02/25)): $400,450 total reported compensation
- DEREK MOHAMMED (DEAN, SCHOOL OF COMPUTING, AI): $256,815 total reported compensation
- JAMES DETUCCIO (CFO/VP FINANCE): $244,600 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Saint Leo University is a place of belonging for all those in pursuit of a greater purpose in life.
What it reported doing in 2024
As the oldest catholic institution of higher education in Florida and one of the top universities in central Florida, saint leo university has a century-long tradition of welcoming students of all faiths. For more information, see schedule o.our liberal arts campus, located 30 miles north of tampa, educates just under 2,250 students. Total enrollment across our central Florida campus, 13 regional locations, and online programs is nearly 9,550 with a total of nearly 160 programs. Saint leo offers over 70 undergraduate degrees, programs and endorsements as well as master's, doctoral and certificate programs in the college of arts, sciences, and allied services, college of business, college of education & social services, college of computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, and data science (cards), and the college of health professions. The publication diverse issues in higher education ranks saint leo among its top 100 institutions graduating minority students with baccalaureate degrees. We're a small school, but we have an incredibly diverse student body composed of 41% students from underrepresented populations. Saint leo serves students from all 50 states, the district of columbia, three u.s. Territories and over 100 foreign countries. Saint leo is also one of the nation's leading providers of higher education to the u.s. Military.today close to 1580 men and women of the armed forces, veterans, and their family members are enrolled in saint leo university degree programs. Our active duty service members, veterans and family members worldwide earn affordable, accessible university degrees through our traditional Florida campus, extensive online program offerings and education centers on military bases in the southern u.s. Saint leo university is ranked in top 10 in the south for best c0llege for veterans by u.s. News & world report.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 94% 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 69% for direct work, and 31% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 78
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.1%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 81.6%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 31st 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.6; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 81.1% of revenue deployed · 81.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $120.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $400K · 39 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $525K reported
- Consistency: 39 of 41 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- 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: 11 filed money-flow records
- 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.