Bennington College Endowment

Bennington College Endowment

Bennington College established its endowment in 1932 alongside the founding of the institution in Vermont. The fund is overseen by a Board of Trustees that includes Nicholas A. Stephens, a Partner at Edgewood Management who purchased a portion of the campus in 2021, and William Q. Derrough, a Managing Director at Moelis & Company. The endowment's capital base has been shaped by major patrons like Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan, who co-chairs the Art for Access committee and donated to the college in 2021. The endowment allocates its capital across a mix of traditional and alternative asset classes, aiming to fund operations and student financial aid. Its real assets are unusually visible for an institution of its size. The portfolio includes the Robert Frost Stone House Museum in Shaftsbury, Vermont, the Paran Creek Apartments in North Bennington, and the Shaftsbury Farmland, which saw a partial sale. The Art for Access Collection and the broader campus art collection are active financial instruments, with select works sold to directly fund scholarships. With approximately $59.4 million in assets, the endowment is managed by an investment committee chaired by Safir, who is also the founder of New Century Advisors. The college is a member of NACUBO, the industry association for higher education business officers, and the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries. In 2021, the endowment benefited directly from a Bucksbaum family donation and the land acquisition by Board Chair Stephens, anchoring a period of campus consolidation. The endowment's structure is defined by the operational integration of its academic mission with its physical and cultural holdings. Instead of holding an opaque diversified portfolio, the fund openly marries a traditional investment pool with a collection of real estate and art, a governance structure built on Wall Street practitioners, and a documented willingness to liquidate non-essential property to meet current spending needs.