Some Ivies Report Endowment Returns, Columbia Sees Huge Increase

By Claudia Park '13

In light of the fragile state of the nation’s economy, universities find an increasingly pressing need for sturdy endowment foundations. This leads to more focused and rigorous endeavors to increase investment returns.

With the conclusion of the fiscal year on June 30, the Ivies have started releasing reports on their endowments. The universities include Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and University of Pennsylvania. Today, Princeton reported that its endowment investments had returned 14.7 percent during the 2009-10 fiscal year, a higher rate than all the Ivies except for Columbia.

Across the board, the fiscal year of 2008-2009 proved particularly trying for the Ivies; the universities suffered significant drops in endowment, resulting in reactionary measures such as tuition increases, layoffs, and temporary freezes in construction efforts. Happily enough, all Ivies experienced increases in endowment this past fiscal year.

Harvard, traditionally with the nation’s largest university endowment, reported an 11% increase after its critical loss of 27%. Yale announced an 8.9% incline from its 24.6% loss. Outstripping Harvard and Yale, University of Pennsylvania gained 13% in funds following its 15% drop, and most impressively of all, Columbia marked a 17.3% rise compensating for its 16.1% loss the previous year.