Elmhurst University

The university's Investment Committee, a body of trustees and administrators, oversees manager selection, asset allocation, and performance monitoring. The committee includes Joseph J. Prochaska Jr. and CFO Julie Suderman among its current members. Elmhurst has not adopted an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) model, keeping investment authority with internal leadership.

The Kloet Student-Managed Investment Fund is an educational vehicle established by Trustee Emeritus Thomas Kloet that manages a portion of the university's endowment. Undergraduate students make investment decisions under faculty supervision, gaining hands-on portfolio-management experience while contributing to the endowment's returns. It is one of the few such programs at a college of Elmhurst's size.

Major benefactors such as Alfred Koplin, President of Alfred N. Koplin, Inc., and Thomas Kloet have contributed materially to the endowment while also serving as trustees. Their gifts enter the pooled endowment and are governed by the same spending rule and investment policy as other funds. The United Church of Christ affiliation also connects Elmhurst to a broader network of congregational donors.

As a standard total-return endowment, the portfolio likely holds allocations to private equity, real assets, or hedge funds alongside public equities and fixed income, though Elmhurst does not disclose its specific managers or commitments. Smaller endowments such as Elmhurst's typically carry modest illiquid allocations compared to billion-dollar-plus peers.

Elmhurst applies a board-approved spending rule to smooth distributions for scholarships, academic programs, and campus operations. The precise rate is not publicly disclosed, but institutions in Elmhurst's tier commonly target payouts between 4 and 5 percent of a trailing three- to five-year average market value.

CFO Julie Suderman manages the university's finances, including the endowment, while President Troy D. VanAken holds ultimate strategic responsibility. The Investment Committee, which includes trustees such as Joseph J. Prochaska Jr., convenes periodically to review performance, rebalance allocations, and approve new manager mandates.

Founded by the German Evangelical Synod, a predecessor body, Elmhurst maintains its covenant with the United Church of Christ. The affiliation shapes the university's governance and donor base, though the endowment's investment policy is managed independently by the Investment Committee without religious screens disclosed publicly.