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Endowment ranks 20th among public universities

KU's $1.049 billion endowment helped provide scholarships for more than 5,000 students, assisted faculty members and offered vital support for the university's programs on four campuses in 2006. It also ranked KU 20th among 248 public universities in a recent study of college and university endowments.

The rankings for KU are based on information reported for fiscal year 2006. The National Association of College and University Business Officers annually compiles the figures and releases the information.

Other findings of the survey:

  • KU's endowment ranked fourth among Big 12 universities
  • KU is ranked 58th among all colleges and universities surveyed
  • The investment rate of return for KU was 13.6 percent; the overall average was 10.7 percent
  • When divided by the number of full-time equivalent students, KU's endowment ranks 16th among all public institutions, or about $43,638 per full-time student. The average for all public institutions is $19,264 per full-time student.

Because the size of the student body at participating institutions varies widely, the full-time equivalent ranking is one of the most accurate institutional comparisons.

Many universities report fiscal information in terms of combined university systems rather than individual institutions, as KU reports. Though the figure does not represent how much funding is allocated to each student, it is representative of the potential impact an endowment may have on an institution's students and educational offerings.

The endowment is managed by KU Endowment, the university's official fundraising organization, and it provides support in perpetuity for the university. A percentage of the earnings from the endowment is transferred to the university each year to support KU students, faculty, programs and facilities. Earnings on the endowment in 2006 that were combined with outright contributions provided $99 million for KU.

Since its founding in 1891, KU Endowment has provided $1.3 billion in aid for the university.

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The first Snow Hall for the natural sciences opened in 1886 and was replaced in 1930 by the current hall, named in honor of the professor who was chancellor from 1891 to 1901. In 1894, Francis H. Snow, a trained theologian, began a series of extension-service lectures on evolution. He was praised but more roundly condemned for his support of Charles Darwin's "Origin of the Species" although he asserted evolution was "fully in accordance with the Scriptures and with Christianity"”
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February 5, 2007 : Vol. 31, No. 10

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