In fiscal 2009, UNC Chapel Hill's endowment lost nearly 20 percent of its value. In real numbers, that's $440 million, from $2.2 billion to about $1.8 billion.
"That's a painful, significant loss," John King, of the UNC Management Co., told campus trustees this week. "It's something we'll be dealing with for a while."
Though tough to stomach, the endowment loss is not unusual. Universities everywhere have struggled this year with significant decreases in the value of their endowments. A study by Cambridge Associates shows that the average loss in fiscal 09 by a group of 163 colleges and universities is 20 percent - so UNC-CH is right at the average.
"Fiscal 09 was the worst college endowment year in decades - I'd even say years," King told trustees. "It's going to take a lot of time to repair the damage that occurred last year."
For more on the university's annual endowment fund report, click the document attached to this blog post.
