Pat Haden scrutinized in LA Times report
Pat Haden, USC’s outgoing athletic director, reportedly collected millions of dollars and directed millions more to the University while serving as the board chairman of the George Henry Mayr Foundation, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Tax returns from 1999 — the year Haden took over as board chairman — until 2014 indicated that he, his daughter and sister-in-law — both of whom also worked for the foundation — collected about $2.4 million, half of which went to him, the Times reported.
Additionally, the amount of money donated to USC during his tenure is dramatically greater than any other university. According to the Times, USC received $1,764,750 from the Mayr Foundation between 1999 and 2014, more than three times as much as the next highest recipient, St. Mary’s Academy, which received $480,750.
Furthermore, under Haden’s tenure, donations to colleges other than USC dropped about 50 percentage points. As of 2014, USC received 10.5 percent of donation shares while all other colleges received just 11.2 percent combined.
Haden’s daughter Natalie O’Connor has received approximately $470,000 in payments since 2005, mainly for part-time work with the foundation, according to tax records cited in the report.
Haden’s sister-in-law Catherine Grier Olson, who became a member in 2000, has received more than $750,000 as a director of the foundation. According to the Times report, in the 1970s, directors received individual compensation ranging from nothing to $500 annually.
Pat Haden started at the foundation as a paid advisor to the foundation in 1998. His father-in-law, Benjamin F. Grier, served on the board from 1984 until his death in 1999.
The George Henry Mayr Foundation was established in 1949 as a scholarship fund for California schools. Its founder, George Mayr, died in 1958. Mayr’s nephew Ted Mayr also served on the board from its inception until his death in 1976. The board has not had a representative of the Mayr family since then.
“Under no circumstances would Mr. Mayr agree to pay money like that to individuals,” Al Maland, a relative of Mayr, said to the Times regarding Haden and his family members collecting money.
Haden, Olson and O’Connor are allowed to pay themselves “reasonable compensation” with the approval of the trustee Wells Fargo Bank under the terms of the foundation’s trust.
The 63-year-old Haden, who declined to be interviewed in the report, will step down as athletic director on June 30 after six years at the helm. O’Connor and Olson did not respond to interview requests. A USC spokesman told the Times that Haden has also stepped down as chairman of the foundation but will remain as a volunteer board member.
You would think Haden would be above all that as a Rhodes Scholar. He was hired as AD to be a stabilizing figure for
the athletic dept. during the sanctions. It turns out he is the one that needs to be sanctioned. His accomplishments at
USC outside of fund raising has been less than mediocre with coaches in all sports.
Pat Haden has been useless as an athletic director besides fundraising. His selection of football coaches were a joke and nothing else.
That’s such a sad ending for the Haden legacy at USC… mired in corruption and theft.
I’m no fan of Pat Haden and his actions, but in all fairness, this wasn’t “corruption and theft”. Corruption and theft imply illegal activities and there’s nothing in the report that I see involved anything that was technically illegal. Unethical, yes. But not criminal.