St. Lawrence University
Legal name: St Lawrence University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 150532239
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Canton, NY, USA
- Phone
- 3152295563
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $210,596,214
- Expenses
- $223,493,666
- Assets
- $700,329,087
- Liabilities
- $163,425,382
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
46 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KATHRYN MORRIS (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KATHRYN MORRIS (PRESIDENT): $583,860 total reported compensation
- FLORENCE HINES (VP, ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT, DEAN OF ADM & FIN AID): $351,022 total reported compensation
- KARL SPIECKER (VP, FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION): $341,714 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 St. Lawrence University is to provide an inspiring and demanding undergraduate education in the liberal arts to students selected for their seriousness of purpose and intellectual promise. University History. 1969:** Higher Education Opportunity Program welcomes its first class. 1974:** The University’s original building, Richardson Hall, and Herring-Cole Hall are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 1978:** “International House,” one of St. Lawrence’s oldest theme communities and known on campus as “I-House”, opens for the first time.
What it reported doing in 2024
St. Lawrence university is a four year private, liberal arts higher education institution located in canton, ny. The total program expenses are directed to the student body of approximately 2,000 for the purpose of preparing them to be critical and creative thinkers, to find a compass for their lives and careers, and to pursue knowledge and understanding for the benefit of themselves, humanity, and the planet.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 84% 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
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: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 85.9%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 94.6%; rating input score 95; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 52nd 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: -6.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.13; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 97.3% of revenue deployed · 85.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 33 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $192.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $584K · 46 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.1M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
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 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.