LSU was absent from a list of public institutions in the nation with the highest endowment assets per student. The list, compiled by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, outlines the percentage of each university’s endowments spent on its students. The Virginia Military Institute topped the list, spending roughly $312,000 per student in the 2007 fiscal year. It has an enrollment of 1,265 students. The list includes nearly 50 institutions in the country. Several Southeastern Conference institutions made the list. The University of Arkansas spent $56,327; the University of Kentucky spent $40,673; the University of Mississippi spent $31,134; and the University of Florida spent $23,661. Scott Madere, director of public relations for the LSU Foundation, said the institutions on the list are very active in fundraising. “Some of the names on the list really don’t surprise me at all,” Madere said. “They have been serious about the fundraising thing for a long time.” Madere said LSU has not been nearly as active in fundraising for as long as institutions on the list. “LSU is a school that’s only in its second [private fundraising] campaign ever, the Forever LSU campaign,” Madere said. LSU launched the Forever LSU campaign in 2006 to raise $750 million in endowments. With its endowment significantly less than peer institutions, LSU is on an “uneven playing field,” according for the Forever LSU Web site. “No other private asset contributes as much to building and sustaining quality as an endowment,” the Web site says. Endowments to the University are handled by the LSU Foundation, the Alumni Association and the Tiger Athletic Foundation. Bunnie Cannon, associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement, said the Forever LSU campaign reached $448 million in endowments as of February 2008. Madere said despite LSU’s recent strides in fundraising, it will take years to reach endowments competitive with other institutions in the nation. “It will take us a good amount of time before we can crack a list like that,” Madere said.
—-Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected]