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News

College Endowments Over $500 Million, FY 2016

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

The market value of Harvard University’s endowment dropped by nearly $2 billion from the end of the 2015 fiscal year to the end of the 2016 fiscal year, the greatest drop of any institution, though it still had by far the largest endowment. Four other wealthy institutions saw decreases of more than half a billion dollars in endowment values from the end of one fiscal year to the next. They are Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University.

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The market value of Harvard University’s endowment dropped by nearly $2 billion from the end of the 2015 fiscal year to the end of the 2016 fiscal year, the greatest drop of any institution, though it still had by far the largest endowment. Four other wealthy institutions saw decreases of more than half a billion dollars in endowment values from the end of one fiscal year to the next. They are Columbia University, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University.


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Rank for 2016Institution2016 endowment (in thousands)2015 endowment (in thousands)One-year change
1. Harvard U. $34,541,893 $36,448,817 -5.2%
2. Yale U. $25,408,600 $25,572,100 -0.6%
3. U. of Texas system $24,203,213 $24,083,150 0.5%
4. Stanford U. $22,398,130 $22,222,957 0.8%
5. Princeton U. $22,152,580 $22,723,473 -2.5%
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology $13,181,515 $13,474,743 -2.2%
7. U. of Pennsylvania $10,715,364 $10,133,569 5.7%
8. Texas A&M U. system and foundations $10,539,526 $10,477,102 0.6%
9. U. of Michigan (all campuses) $9,743,461 $9,952,113 -2.1%
10. Northwestern U. $9,648,497 $10,193,037 -5.3%
11. Columbia U. $9,041,027 $9,639,065 -6.2%
12. U. of Notre Dame $8,374,083 $8,566,952 -2.3%
13. U. of California $8,341,073 $7,997,099 4.3%
14. U. of Chicago $7,001,204 $7,549,710 -7.3%
15. Duke U. $6,839,780 $7,296,545 -6.3%
16. Washington U. in St. Louis $6,461,717 $6,818,748 -5.2%
17. Emory U. $6,401,650 $6,684,305 -4.2%
18. U. of Virginia $5,852,309 $6,180,515 -5.3%
19. Cornell U. $5,757,722 $6,037,546 -4.6%
20. Rice U. $5,324,289 $5,557,479 -4.2%
21. U. of Southern California $4,608,714 $4,709,511 -2.1%
22. Dartmouth College $4,474,404 $4,663,491 -4.1%
23. Vanderbilt U. $3,822,187 $4,133,542 -7.5%
24. Pennsylvania State U. (all campuses) $3,602,312 $3,635,730 -0.9%
25. Ohio State U. $3,578,562 $3,633,887 -1.5%
26. U. of Pittsburgh (all campuses) $3,524,904 $3,588,775 -1.8%
27. New York U. $3,487,702 $3,576,180 -2.5%
28. Johns Hopkins U. $3,381,281 $3,412,617 -0.9%
29. U. of Minnesota and foundations $3,280,681 $3,297,460 -0.5%
30. U. of Washington $2,968,013 $3,076,226 -3.5%
31. Brown U. $2,963,366 $3,073,349 -3.6%
32. U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and foundations $2,889,679 $2,988,806 -3.3%
33. U. of Wisconsin Foundation $2,419,161 $2,465,051 -1.9%
34. U. of Illinois and Foundation $2,290,995 $2,388,469 -4.1%
35. Williams College $2,256,160 $2,395,100 -5.8%
36. Purdue U. (all campuses) $2,254,541 $2,397,902 -6.0%
37. Michigan State U. $2,224,751 $2,274,813 -2.2%
38. U. of Richmond $2,189,546 $2,371,810 -7.7%
39. California Institute of Technology $2,106,724 $2,198,887 -4.2%
40. Boston College $2,064,300 $2,219,600 -7.0%
41. Amherst College $2,031,843 $2,193,511 -7.4%
42. Indiana U. and Foundation (all campuses) $1,986,464 $1,974,215 0.6%
43. Pomona College $1,984,931 $2,098,704 -5.4%
44. U. of Rochester $1,927,573 $2,050,199 -6.0%
45. Rockefeller U. $1,927,404 $1,987,027 -3.0%
46. Georgia Institute of Technology and related foundations $1,843,764 $1,858,977 -0.8%
47. U. of California at Los Angeles Foundation $1,803,671 $1,864,605 -3.3%
48. Wellesley College $1,784,479 $1,881,031 -5.1%
49. Swarthmore College $1,746,962 $1,845,799 -5.4%
50. Carnegie Mellon U. $1,708,618 $1,739,474 -1.8%
51. Case Western Reserve U. $1,662,739 $1,775,999 -6.4%
52. Boston U. $1,654,531 $1,644,117 0.6%
53. Grinnell College $1,648,783 $1,787,775 -7.8%
54. U. of Toronto $1,639,348 $1,726,051 -5.0%
55. Smith College $1,627,469 $1,781,763 -8.7%
56. U. of California Berkeley Foundation $1,585,935 $1,575,479 0.7%
57. George Washington U. $1,570,278 $1,616,357 -2.9%
58. Tufts U. $1,562,968 $1,593,019 -1.9%
59. Virginia Commonwealth U. $1,559,874 $1,638,147 -4.8%
60. U. of Oklahoma (all campuses) $1,520,354 $1,523,024 -0.2%
61. Georgetown U. $1,483,502 $1,528,869 -3.0%
62. Kansas University Endowment Association $1,475,158 $1,500,402 -1.7%
63. U. of Nebraska system $1,475,090 $1,538,071 -4.1%
64. Washington and Lee U. $1,472,485 $1,471,274 0.1%
65. U. of Florida Foundation $1,461,347 $1,555,703 -6.1%
66. U. of Missouri system $1,459,991 $1,476,959 -1.1%
67. Texas Christian U. $1,435,899 $1,514,296 -5.2%
68. Southern Methodist U. $1,383,981 $1,505,296 -8.1%
69. Bowdoin College $1,339,981 $1,392,760 -3.8%
70. U. of Delaware $1,261,790 $1,341,373 -5.9%
71. U. of Iowa and Foundation $1,259,309 $1,263,043 -0.3%
72. U. of Alabama system $1,220,781 $1,238,954 -1.5%
73. Tulane U. $1,171,314 $1,220,464 -4.0%
74. U. of Cincinnati $1,165,522 $1,195,899 -2.5%
75. Lehigh U. $1,162,711 $1,213,207 -4.2%
76. Syracuse U. $1,156,828 $1,166,109 -0.8%
77. Baylor U. $1,144,280 $1,168,242 -2.1%
78. U. of British Columbia $1,141,520 $1,167,228 -2.2%
79. Wake Forest U. $1,141,211 $1,167,400 -2.2%
80. U. of California San Francisco Foundation $1,138,815 $1,160,627 -1.9%
81. Texas Tech U. system $1,126,429 $1,178,300 -4.4%
82. McGill U. (Quebec) $1,121,053 $1,155,644 -3.0%
83. U. of Kentucky $1,117,852 $1,142,722 -2.2%
84. U. of Tennessee $1,099,634 $1,106,924 -0.7%
85. Trinity U. (Tex.) $1,084,908 $1,185,370 -8.5%
86. Rutgers, the State U. of New Jersey $1,083,665 $1,001,969 8.2%
87. U. of Utah $1,076,649 $1,023,004 5.2%
88. Baylor College of Medicine $1,063,678 $1,095,326 -2.9%
89. U. of Colorado Foundation $1,062,664 $1,090,297 -2.5%
90. Saint Louis U. $1,053,035 $1,093,348 -3.7%
91. Berea College $1,050,680 $1,101,476 -4.6%
92. U. of Georgia and related foundations $1,016,732 $1,004,987 1.2%
93. Middlebury College $1,000,598 $1,101,054 -9.1%
94. North Carolina State U. and related foundations $998,600 $983,979 1.5%
95. Princeton Theological Seminary $995,553 $1,065,784 -6.6%
96. University System of Maryland Foundation $968,861 $986,248 -1.8%
97. U. of Tulsa $957,523 $1,037,169 -7.7%
98. Berry College $935,907 $879,501 6.4%
99. Vassar College $928,812 $982,974 -5.5%
100. Carnegie Institution of Washington $908,772 $995,492 -8.7%
101. Washington State U. $907,828 $885,777 2.5%
102. U. of Alberta $906,250 $935,500 -3.1%
103. U. of Arkansas at Fayetteville $898,908 $948,679 -5.2%
104. Brandeis U. $866,778 $915,087 -5.3%
105. Oklahoma State U. Foundation $847,004 $877,549 -3.5%
106. U. of Miami $844,643 $887,329 -4.8%
107. Virginia Tech Foundation $842,991 $817,759 3.1%
108. Santa Clara U. $840,706 $884,746 -5.0%
109. Colgate U. $821,675 $892,231 -7.9%
110. Hamilton College (N.Y.) $817,210 $856,067 -4.5%
111. College of William & Mary and foundations $803,698 $811,217 -0.9%
112. Bryn Mawr College $797,121 $852,985 -6.5%
113. Loma Linda U. $784,235 $787,454 -0.4%
114. Louisiana State U. system (all campuses) $781,833 $851,833 -8.2%
115. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art $781,491 $738,415 5.8%
116. Pepperdine U. $781,341 $805,154 -3.0%
117. Oberlin College $770,271 $832,382 -7.5%
118. Wesleyan U. (Conn.) $770,121 $810,018 -4.9%
119. Iowa State U. and Foundation $760,461 $786,205 -3.3%
120. U. of Oregon Foundation $758,692 $719,111 5.5%
121. U. of Arizona and Foundation $754,651 $767,940 -1.7%
122. Medical College of Wisconsin $748,862 $778,315 -3.8%
123. Rochester Institute of Technology $745,007 $758,606 -1.8%
124. U. of Houston system and foundations $741,825 $794,556 -6.6%
125. Carleton College $738,136 $783,456 -5.8%
126. U. of Massachusetts Foundation $734,166 $770,222 -4.7%
127. Lafayette College $733,244 $774,188 -5.2%
128. Queen’s U. (Ontario) $723,698 $720,789 0.4%
129. Bucknell U. $722,425 $789,354 -8.5%
130. Denison U. $716,180 $797,101 -10.2%
131. U. of Louisville Foundation $715,689 $844,288 -10.7%
132. Colby College $710,659 $745,957 -4.7%
133. Claremont McKenna College $709,106 $733,871 -3.4%
134. Macalester College $700,189 $762,018 -8.1%
135. Northeastern U. $693,025 $729,400 -5.0%
136. Howard U. $685,775 $704,828 -2.7%
137. Colorado College $683,225 $720,085 -5.1%
138. College of the Holy Cross $680,993 $721,310 -5.6%
139. Mount Holyoke College $667,595 $700,304 -4.7%
140. Principia Corporation (includes Principia College) $664,951 $686,425 -3.1%
141. Davidson College $661,926 $682,500 -3.0%
142. U. of South Carolina and affiliated foundations $655,469 $625,186 4.8%
143. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education $652,180 $666,779 -2.2%
144. University System of New Hampshire and foundations $651,345 $676,268 -3.7%
145. Drexel U. $650,252 $668,386 -2.7%
146. Auburn U. and Foundation $646,624 $641,993 0.7%
147. St. John’s U. (N.Y.) $643,376 $685,662 -6.2%
148. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute $634,916 $676,546 -6.2%
149. Yeshiva U. $632,856 $680,327 -7.0%
150. Clemson U. and Foundation $621,294 $648,611 -4.2%
151. Fordham U. $614,871 $665,532 -7.6%
152. DePauw U. $614,568 $643,787 -4.5%
153. Arizona State U. and Foundation $612,590 $643,188 -4.8%
154. Furman U. $609,731 $631,397 -3.4%
155. U. of Denver $607,368 $632,761 -4.0%
156. U. of Mississippi Foundation $602,879 $606,387 -0.6%
157. U. at Buffalo Foundation $600,961 $619,296 -3.0%
158. Florida State U. Foundation $584,529 $605,275 -3.4%
159. American U. $576,919 $600,336 -3.9%
160. Oregon Health & Science U. Foundation $570,485 $571,341 -0.1%
161. Villanova U. $551,036 $553,859 -0.5%
162. Marquette U. $550,106 $551,558 -0.3%
163. National U. $545,681 $558,978 -2.4%
164. Rush U. Medical Center $538,823 $555,610 -3.0%
165. U. of California at San Diego Foundation $536,134 $548,317 -2.2%
166. Loyola U. Chicago $535,117 $542,909 -1.4%
167. Trinity College (Conn.) $524,259 $562,182 -6.7%
168. American U. of Beirut $520,444 $551,036 -5.6%
169. West Virginia U. Foundation $511,384 $533,599 -4.2%
170. McMaster U. (Ontario) $510,408 $539,216 -5.3%

Note: Data represent changes in endowments’ market value from the 2015 fiscal year, which ended for most colleges on June 30, 2015, to the 2016 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2016. Percentage change does not represent the rate of return on the institution’s investments but rather the net effect of withdrawals, payment of fees, contributions of donors, and investment gains or losses. Large percentage changes should be interpreted cautiously because they can result from fluctuations in the estimated valuations of real estate and other “illiquid” assets, or transfers from other institutional budget accounts. Although New York University’s 2016 fiscal year ended on August 31, 2016, the university reported endowment values for June 30 of that year. Carnegie Mellon University’s total combines the endowment assets and a portion of the assets of the Dietrich Foundation, of which the university is a named beneficiary. The total for Oregon Health & Science University Foundation includes assets from the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation. Endowment values for Canadian institutions are expressed in U.S. dollars, calculated on or around June 30 of the fiscal year being reported. About 11 percent of the 815 institutions that responded to the 2016 survey reported endowments over $1 billion, and another 11 percent reported endowments under $25 million. Revisions made by institutions after February 2017 are not included in this table. An interactive tool with endowment data from 2007 to 2016 is at www.chronicle.com/interactives/endowments. More data are at www.nacubo.org/Research/NACUBO-Commonfund_Study_of_Endowments.html.

Source: National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund Institute

Correction (2/27/2018, 1:27 p.m.): The original table should have identified No. 86 on the list as Rutgers, the State U. of New Jersey, not Rutgers U. at New Brunswick. The identification has been corrected.

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
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