University Endowments

College and university endowments represent a significant source of revenue for institutions of higher education, especially in the United States. [Page 820]Recent estimates place the total asset value of American endowments for higher education in excess of $400 billion, with more than 70 institutions individually claiming endowments in excess of $1 billion. According to the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Study of Endowments, some 850 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada maintain institutional endowment funds with an average balance in the tens of millions of dollars under management. The purpose of these funds is to allow the institution to permanently invest the principal to generate revenues in the forms of interest, dividends, distributions, and capital gains ...