# Capital University Endowment

Capital University Endowment is an Endowment / Foundation based in Columbus, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Columbus, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Columbus, Ohio, United States
- **Founded:** 1830
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** capital.edu
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.capital.edu

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Capital University, a private Lutheran institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, was founded in 1830 in Bexley, Ohio. Its endowment comprises a collection of donor-established accounts designed to provide permanent financial support for students, faculty, and academic programs. President Jared R. Tice, who took office in 2025, now oversees this pool following the retirement of David L. Kaufman. Investment strategy skews toward a fund-of-funds structure, a common architecture for endowments of this scale, supplemented by direct interests in hard assets. The endowment holds the university's main campus in Bexley and a law school building on East Broad Street in Columbus, while a joint venture with developer Pizzuti created 'The Grant,' a mixed-use residential project at Grant and Oak Streets. The real estate footprint reflects a willingness to deploy capital into urban redevelopment alongside mission-driven investment pools. Team oversight runs through the Board of Trustees, chaired by Steven Bahls, with financial management directed by Vice President William Mea. The endowment participates in the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, providing a benchmarking framework against other private colleges. Recent leadership transition marks the primary operational event, with Tice succeeding Kaufman as the 18th president in 2025. The structural distinction lies in the physical composition of assets. Few endowments of this size hold tangible cultural property — the Schumacher Gallery's permanent collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, plus a Berlin Wall segment — alongside a law school building and a downtown residential joint venture. This hybrid of pooled investment funds, real property, and curated art creates a balance sheet shaped more by donor intent and institutional heritage than by pure portfolio optimization.

## Sectors

- Education
- Real Estate

## People

- Jared R. Tice — President
- Steven Bahls — Chair of the Board of Trustees
- William Mea — Vice President of Business, Finance and Treasurer

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Capital University Endowment?

Oversight rests with the Board of Trustees, chaired by Steven Bahls, while day-to-day financial management falls under William Mea, the Vice President of Business, Finance and Treasurer. President Jared R. Tice, who assumed the role in 2025, provides executive leadership. The specific investment committee structure or use of an outsourced chief investment officer is not publicly detailed.

### Does Capital University Endowment commit to external funds or make direct investments?

The endowment employs a fund-of-funds strategy, meaning capital is allocated primarily through commitments to external investment managers rather than direct company or project investments. However, it also holds significant direct real estate assets, including the main campus, a law school building, and a joint venture residential development called 'The Grant' with developer Pizzuti.

### What is the real estate footprint of the endowment?

The endowment's known real estate holdings include the 23-acre main campus in Bexley, the Capital University Law School building in downtown Columbus, and a joint venture with developer Pizzuti for 'The Grant,' a mixed-use residential project at the corner of Grant and Oak Streets. This blend of core institutional property and income-producing development is unusual for a university of its size.

### Has Capital University participated in any notable club or co-investment groups?

There is no public evidence of the endowment participating in private co-investment clubs like Tiger 21 or R360. Its primary professional affiliations include the NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments for benchmarking and the Council of Independent Colleges, which focuses on academic rather than investment collaboration.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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