Utica University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161476258
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Utica, NY, USA
Phone
3157923011
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$97,065,313
Expenses
$101,286,070
Assets
$130,088,029
Liabilities
$84,227,180

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Todd Pfannestiel (President)
  • Polly Smith (Senior Vice President for Market Innovation & New Ventures/Associtae Provost for OES)
  • Kristin Haag (Vice President of Financial Affairs/Treasurer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Todd Pfannestiel (President): $449,772 total reported compensation
  • Stephanie Nesbitt (Provost): $231,699 total reported compensation
  • Robert Halliday (Professor of Philosophy): $214,668 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our programs prepare you for success in a changing world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instruction and research to educate undergraduate & graduate students preparing them to achieve distinction in their chosen professions and inspiring them to become citizens committed to their community. Institutional Support for central and executive-level activities concerned with management and long-range planning for the entire institution.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 90% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.

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: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 51st 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: -4.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.28; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.8%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 92% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $88.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $450K · 36 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $19.6M reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 47 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 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: 8 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.
  • 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: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.