USC director of athletics Pat Haden’s role in a charitable organization was called into question by a Los Angeles Times story published Saturday morning.
Haden, who is set to end his tenure as USC AD at the end of this month, and relatives were paid handsome sums for relatively small amounts of work with the George Henry Mayr Foundation while donations to the fund went into decline according to the paper.Haden, his daughter and sister-in-law together collected about $2.4 million from the foundation for part-time roles involving as little as one hour of work per week, according to the foundation’s federal tax returns for 1999 to 2014, the most recent year available.
Half of that, about $1.2 million, went to Haden. His annual board fees have been as high as $84,000; the foundation paid him $72,725 in 2014.
During Haden’s tenure on the board, donations directed to USC, where he has been athletic director for nearly six years, far outpaced the amounts given to any other school, a Times analysis of the tax records shows.
The compensation Haden and two relatives received for work on the foundation did not violate any laws or the terms of compensation laid out by the trust agreement, but “philanthropy experts” told The Times they were unusually large.
The Times’ study also found USC was a significant beneficiary of funds awarded by the foundation during Haden’s time as chairman.
Though he refused an interview, Haden defended himself via statements to the paper sent through a USC spokesperson.
The spokesperson also said Haden would recuse himself when donations to USC were discussed.
A rep for Wells Fargo told The Times tax returns showing one-hour work weeks for Haden and his relatives had been filed in error and would be amended.
As part of an effort to reduce his overall workload for health reasons, he has stepped down as chairman but remains a volunteer board member of the foundation.
