Benedictine University

Benedictine University

Benedictine University's endowment originates with the institution's 1887 founding by the Benedictine monks of St. Procopius Abbey in Chicago, now based primarily in Lisle, Illinois. The endowment functions as a permanent funding source for student scholarships and academic programs at a private Catholic university serving roughly 3,000 students across campuses in Illinois and Arizona. Katherine A. Donofrio chairs the Board of Trustees, and Brian Qualizza serves as CFO, overseeing the financial operations alongside the endowment's investment posture. The endowment allocates across a broad mix of asset classes including buyout, venture capital, real estate, natural resources, secondaries, and fund-of-funds commitments. Its investment strategy ranges from early-stage seed and startup exposure through late-stage expansion, with a known tilt toward mission-aligned and sustainable investing as a participant in the Intentional Endowments Network. Direct oversight includes institution-owned real assets such as the Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business, the Michael and Kay Birck Hall of Science, the Lisle campus grounds, and a satellite campus in Mesa, Arizona. The university also maintains the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum collection as a specialized educational asset. The endowment operates alongside major philanthropic relationships that augment its financial firepower. Daniel L. Goodwin, chairman and CEO of Inland Real Estate Group, and John P. Calamos, founder of Calamos Investments, are both trustees and significant donors. The Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation partners on leadership scholarships, and the university participates in the Council of Independent Colleges and the Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities. The student-run Benedictine University Investment Club Equity Fund provides a hands-on learning vehicle that sits adjacent to the institutional pool. Recent operational updates are limited in the public record. The endowment's structure is defined by its Catholic Benedictine identity — it is not a standalone investment office but an embedded financial function of the university itself, with the board of trustees exercising oversight and investment decisions interwoven with the institution's broader fiscal planning. Its membership in the Intentional Endowments Network signals an explicit commitment to aligning the portfolio with the university's values, a posture that increasingly shapes institutional allocator behavior at the smaller end of the endowment spectrum.