Augustana University (South Dakota)

Augustana University (South Dakota)

Augustana University was founded in 1860 as a Lutheran institution and now operates in Sioux Falls with a $115 million endowment. President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Chair Pat McAdaragh guide a board that blends academic leadership with local business operators. The fund draws its corpus from a century of donor gifts rather than a single industrial fortune, with notable recent commitments from Joe and Jennifer Kirby and De and Dave Knudson. The endowment allocates across early-stage venture, expansion capital, and fund-of-funds structures targeting seed through late-stage deals. Confirmed co-investors and partners include Sanford Health, Lloyd Companies, and Midco, with the board maintaining direct ties to each. The geography centers on South Dakota but reaches nationally via pooled vehicles and NACUBO-member networks. The fund commits capital through a mix of direct co-investments and external fund commitments without operating a separate investment management entity. The team does not report a dedicated investment staff, instead routing decisions through the Board of Trustees and its embedded operators. The endowment shares a balance sheet with residences like Foundation Heights, the Midco Arena, and artistic assets including works by Picasso and Chagall held at the Eide/Dalrymple Gallery. In the 2024-25 year, McAdaragh continues as Chair while the university integrates its new on-campus hockey arena, a project tied directly to Midco's naming gift. The structural differentiator is the absence of a separate investment office: all allocation decisions flow through the same board that approves tenure and building projects. This creates a governance model where local corporate leaders double as fiduciaries, binding Sioux Falls' economic elite to the university's asset base.