Endowment Growth Takes the Spotlight

When a recent report of endowment growth across national universities indicated Baylor’s endowment performance was topping the list — beating the performance of even the Ivy League schools that have long been the gold standard when it comes to getting the best return on endowment investments — people began to take notice.  

Baylor’s endowment fund is small, relative to the size of the University, but recent investment performance is an inflection point. Dave Morehead, Baylor’s chief investment officer, explained why Baylor’s big returns are a big deal. 

“Right now, the endowment gives the University about $80 million a year. In 20 years, the endowment could, if we do a good job, be giving the University over $500 million per year. That would mean more scholarship money, more money for professors and more funding for whatever else is needed.”

Through careful management and the generous gifts of donors, Baylor’s total endowment has reached $2 billion. Last year, 5% of the endowment — the legal amount a university can spend to ensure the endowment is kept intact — covered about 8% of Baylor’s budget. Continuing to grow the endowment, through both management and fundraising, will help Baylor take more of the burden off tuition while also helping the University fund new programs.

“This success is something that the Baylor Family should feel really good about,” Morehead said. “Baylor now is being discussed in the same breath as Yale, MIT, etc., and in the halls and text threads of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Baylor is, in this way, asserting itself in a realm where it had not previously had a seat at the table.”