Higher Education: U. of Kentucky Funds ‘Under Water,’ Tulane Starting $1-Billion Drive

The value of more than half of the University of Kentucky’s 1,900 individual endowment funds have fallen below the value of the original gifts, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The decline of some 1,100 such funds — falling to a point known as “under water” has forced the institution to dip into the funds’ principal or seek money elsewhere to cover endowed scholarships and professorships. The total worth of the university’s endowment was about $724-million on July 31, down from nearly $1-billion two years ago. (See The Chronicle’s article on the ways charitable organizations of all kinds are responding to this problem. A paid subscription or temporary pass is required.)

Also, Tulane University will embark next month on a $1-billion campaign, the largest in the New Orleans institution’s 175-year history, The Times-Picayune reports. A university spokesman said a major goal of the drive will be to enrich Tulane’s endowment, which stood at $1.1-billion in August 2008 but has since declined by 23 percent.

And the Times Union of Albany, N.Y., reports that federal officials have opened an investigation into whether the State University of New York Research Foundation is properly spending tens of millions of dollars in government grants earmarked for specific projects.