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Emporia State University
The Emporia State University Foundation formed in 1952 as the independent fundraising and asset-management arm of the public university in Emporia, Kansas.
Emporia State University
The Emporia State University Foundation formed in 1952 as the independent fundraising and asset-management arm of the public university in Emporia, Kansas. President and CEO Jason Drummond leads the foundation, working with University President Ken Hush and a board chaired by Jason Fanning. The foundation's private corpus supplements the university's operating budget, which relies heavily on Kansas state appropriations and student tuition. Its revenue comes from alumni donors and friends of the university, with no single dominant wealth origin beyond broadly distributed giving tied to the 30,000-plus living alumni base. The foundation allocates across a mix that public records show includes buyout funds, venture capital — spanning seed to late-stage — fund-of-funds, natural-resources exposure, commodities, timber, and co-investment vehicles. It also holds donated cryptocurrency and physical real estate: the Sauder Alumni Center at 1500 Highland Street, the Emporia State University Apartments on Triplett Drive, and the main 1 Kellogg Circle campus land. The geographic footprint concentrates in Lyon County and surrounding Kansas areas for real assets, while the venture and buyout portfolios reach national fund managers through fund commitments and direct co-investments. A small shop relative to flagship state endowments, the foundation runs lean — public filings name fewer than a dozen professionals, including CFO Jennifer Sauder and VP for Alumni and Stewardship Jenni Denton. Shane Shivley, a prior foundation CEO, now serves as the university's Vice President of University Advancement. The foundation participates in the NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments, benchmarking its $104M (Altss estimate) pool against national peers. In 2024-2025, Gary Allerheiligen served as interim CEO during a leadership transition, signaling board-level engagement in operational continuity. The foundation's structural differentiator is its unusually broad alternative-asset appetite for its size. Holding donated cryptocurrency, commodities exposure, and timber alongside venture and buyout fund commitments is rare for a sub-$150M endowment. This multi-asset posture, plus physical campus real estate ownership through a tax-advantaged foundation shell, gives the ESU Foundation a hybrid investment-company character distinct from most regional public-university endowments.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1952
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Emporia
Corporate office
Emporia, KS, United States
Principals
Jason Drummond
President and CEO, Emporia State University Foundation
Ken Hush
President, Emporia State University
Gary Allerheiligen
Interim Foundation CEO (2024-2025)
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions for the Emporia State University endowment?
The Emporia State University Foundation, a legally separate nonprofit corporation, holds and invests the endowment. President and CEO Jason Drummond leads the foundation's day-to-day management, reporting to a Board of Trustees chaired by Jason Fanning. The foundation's CFO Jennifer Sauder oversees financial operations, while the board's investment committee sets allocation policy and selects external managers.
Does the ESU Foundation invest directly or through external managers?
The foundation combines fund commitments with co-investments. Its strategy tags include fund-of-funds, buyout, venture capital across stages from seed to late-stage, and co-investment vehicles. Publicly listed direct holdings include donated cryptocurrency and physical real estate such as the Sauder Alumni Center, ESU Apartments, and main campus land. For venture, buyout, and natural-resource exposure it relies on external fund managers.
What is the foundation's known allocation to alternatives?
The foundation list includes buyout, venture capital, fund-of-funds, natural resources, commodities, timber, and co-investments. It also holds donated cryptocurrency — an asset class still rare among endowments of its size. The mixture suggests a heavier alternatives tilt than typical for a sub-$150M pool, though percentage allocations are not publicly disclosed.
How is the foundation related to the university?
The Emporia State University Foundation is an independent, nonprofit corporation legally separate from the university itself. It raises, receives, manages, invests, and distributes private gifts exclusively in support of Emporia State University. The university's president, Ken Hush, works alongside foundation leadership but does not directly manage the endowment corpus.
Does the ESU Foundation maintain philanthropic structures alongside its investments?
Yes. The foundation itself is the primary philanthropic vehicle — it receives gifts, manages donated assets including real estate and cryptocurrency, and distributes funds for scholarships, research, and public service. The foundation also stewards physical collections including the William Allen White Collection, the May Massee Collection, and the Schmidt Museum of Natural History Collection, which serve both academic and public missions.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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