Skip to content
Endowment
A view of Rush Rhees Library featuring a prominent dome and a tree in the foreground.

Overview

The University of Rochester’s endowment—the largest component of the University of Rochester Long Term Investment Pool (“LTIP”)—provides perpetual annual support for student financial aid and faculty salaries as well as support for certain facilities and academic programs. Spending from the endowment also helps to stabilize the University’s annual budget.

The University distributes over $100 million each year from its endowment to facilitate its mission to Learn, Discover, Heal, Create – and make the world ever better. 

Endowment spending is the primary source of scholarships awarded to undergraduates and allows many qualified students of widely diverse backgrounds to afford a University of Rochester education. Endowment spending also supports  faculty, libraries, laboratories, clinical practices, medical research, new technologies, growth and vitality of the arts, and physical assets of the University. The approximately 2,850 individual funds that make up the endowment touch all parts of the University. Some funds, such as the 403 endowed funds that support the Eastman School of Music, provide support for a broad range of purposes. Others, such as the Social Science Fund for Rush Rhees Library, support very specific needs. Each provides vital support for the many endeavors of the University’s faculty and students.

$127,178,000

Endowment support for students, faculty, and programs as of June 30, 2024

1,143

donors made gifts to 476 different endowed funds during 2024

208

people were first-time donors to endowed funds during 2024

2,996

funds made up the University’s endowment as of June 30, 2024

Endowment background

Since 1848, when founding Trustee John Wilder started a campaign to establish an endowment at the University of Rochester – leading the effort with a gift of $10,000 – continuous growth of the endowment has remained critical to Rochester’s future. As of June 30, 2024, Rochester’s Long Term Investment Pool (most of which is endowment) was valued at approximately $3.5 billion and is one of approximately 40 college and university endowments valued above $3 billion.

Rochester’s endowment is allocated to both publicly traded investments (domestic and international stocks and bonds) as well as alternative investments, including hedge funds, private equity, real assets (real estate and natural resources) and other assets. It holds more than half of its investments in alternatives. The allocation between traditional and alternative investments helps assure growth in favorable economic conditions and offers a measure of protection against severe losses during economic downturns. It is highly diversified and managed by approximately 100 external investment advisors located around the globe.