Black Colleges and Universities With a Strong Performance in Endowment Growth

In the July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 period, the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index rose 8.6 percent. Nationwide about 60 percent of college endowment funds are invested in stocks. Thus it is not surprising that, according to a report by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the typical college endowment fund increased its value by 10.7 percent in the period from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006.

Several historically black colleges and universities did better than the national average. For the second year in a row, Meharry Medical College in Nashville saw its endowment increase by a large percentage. In the most recent period, the medical school saw its endowment increase by 18.5 percent. This was on top of a 19.6 percent gain a year earlier. The Morehouse School of Medicine also saw major gains over the past two years. This year the Morehouse School of Medicine endowment grew 19.8 percent to $46.1 million.

Bethune-Cookman College, which recently changed its name to Bethune-Cookman University, saw its endowment increase by nearly 22 percent in the July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006 period. The university’s endowment now stands at $35.4 million.

Spelman College, with an endowment of $291,695,000, had the second-largest fund among the black institutions. For the year ending June 30, 2006, Spelman’s endowment fund increased 13 percent over a year earlier. This is considerably higher than the national average and just short of the gain posted by the endowment at Harvard University.

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