Brown’s $7 billion endowment is composed of nearly 4,000 individual funds. Many of these funds were donated for designated purposes — including supporting the work of departments across campus.
“Individual endowment funds are not likely to be tied to departments or other academic units as a whole, but rather designed to support specific initiatives, projects (or) priorities within a department,” University Spokesperson Brian Clark wrote in an email to The Herald.
For fiscal year 2025, the University withdrew 5.5% of the total endowment for University operating expenses.
Some of these funds will go toward the “Educational and General” budget, which supports professorships, over 70 academic programs and varsity sports, among other expenses. In FY2026, approximately 22% of the budget will come from the endowment. The additional 78% is funded by tuition, annual donations and other revenue streams.
The Department in Literary Arts, for example, had a discrete budget for at least 20 years before its split from the English department in 2005, Department Chair Matthew Shenoda wrote in an email to The Herald.
This included endowed funds assigned to support literary arts programming. When the departments separated, literary arts carried with it “endowments for which it had already gained responsibility,” wrote Shenoda.
The literary arts department’s endowed funds finance student prizes, honors projects and targeted curricular support, Shenoda wrote. All endowed gifts are made through the University’s Division of Advancement, and the Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — determines the annual yield the department can take from the funds, he added.
Departments have no responsibility for managing the investment of their own endowed funds, wrote Shenoda.
The investment of all of the funds that make up the Brown endowment is controlled by Brown’s Investment Office, Clark explained.
The Department of Classics currently has six endowment funds designated for its use, according to Department Chair Joseph Pucci. The oldest funds originated in the 1800s and the most recent fund was created in 2012.
One of the older endowments is “the Lucius Lyon Premium, which was endowed in the late 19th century,” Pucci wrote. Since its inception, the fund has been used to finance an annual award for the examination of Latin language or Roman history, according to the department’s website. About 20 years ago, its use was expanded to also “support students, especially graduate students, in their research and professional development,” he added.
Other funds are set aside for various expenses. Some finance student travel and research, while others support the department’s annual Latin Carol Celebration and pay for book launches, Pucci explained.
At the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy, endowments are used to support financial aid for master’s students, several lecture series and stipends for student internships, according to Director Eric Patashnik.
“Endowment funds are critical to the Taubman Center’s capacity to promote research, learning and public engagement on American politics and public policy,” wrote Patashnik. “Quite simply, the Taubman Center could not advance its core mission without our endowment funding.”
Cate Latimer is a university news editor covering faculty, University Hall and higher education. She is from Portland, OR, and studies English and Urban Studies. In her free time, you can find her playing ultimate frisbee or rewatching episodes of Parks and Rec.
Ciara Meyer is a section editor from Saratoga Springs, New York. She plans on concentrating in Statistics and English Nonfiction. In her free time, she loves scrapbooking and building lego flowers.
