LAC endowments

<p>The 2008-09 almanac issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education just arrived. It contains many tables on university, state, and national higher education statistics. Want to know which school enrolled the most international students? Which state has the highest percent of adults with a B.A. degree? It’s here. One table is a listing of all colleges and universities with an endowment of over $250 million. We all know who’s at the top, but here’s the CC Top Liberal Arts Colleges, ranked by size of endowment. There is no point, it's just interesting.</p>

<p>School,endowment,1 year change</p>

<p>Williams , 1,892,055 , +29.4%
Pomona , 1,760,902 , +20.8%
Grinnell , 1,718,313 , +16.7%
Amherst , 1,662,377 , +24.3%
Wellesley , 1,656,565 , +17.3%
Swarthmore , 1,441,232 , +15.7%
Smith , 1,360,966 , +17.7%
Middlebury , 936,354 , +20.7%
Vassar , 869,122 , +17.2%
Bowdoin , 827,714 , +22.9%
Oberlin , 816,135 , +16.9%
Wesleyan , 710,800 , +14.7%
Colgate , 709,047 , +27.2%
Hamilton , 701,670 , +19.4%
Washington & Lee, 692,797 , +18.0%
Macalester , 675,987 , +17.1%
Bryn Mawr , 663,626 , +14.5%
Carleton , 663,500 , +16.0%
Mount Hokyoke , 615,376 , +20.7%
Colby , 598,729 , +24.2%
Haverford , 539,589 , +19.1%
Davidson , 489,461 , +16.1%
Claremont Mckenna , 474,022 , +27.0%
Reed , 455,705 , +18.3%
Trinity (CT) , 440,195 , +13.6%
Whitman , 391,366 , +14.8%
Bates , 275,557 , +17.6%
Harvey Mudd , 260,809 , +13.5%</p>

<p>Note that the increase is not rates of return on investments, but the growth of the market value of the school’s endowment. Figures are of June 30, 2007. Kenyon and Barnard are not listed. I think Kenyon’s endowment is below $250 million, but they are in a $230 million campaign. Maybe Barnard’s relation with Columbia explains its absence. One interesting sidelight. Berea College in Kentucky has occasionally been mentioned on CC as a school that gives all enrolled students a tuition-free education. How can they do that? Well, the endowment is $1,102,272, which would place it 8th on the list. </p>

<p>Oh, the answers to the above questions are University of Southern California and Colorado.</p>