Fort Lewis College

The Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees, chaired by Mary Rubadeau, governs the institution's pooled endowment. Portfolio oversight typically resides with the board's investment committee, which manages allocations across real estate, cultural assets and a cryptocurrency donation program. The separate Fort Lewis College Foundation, led by CEO Melissa Mount and board chair Steve Short, directs philanthropic gifts outside the endowment pool.

Holdings include real estate at 1304 Florida Road, the 1000 Rim Drive main campus and the Old Fort Lewis site in Hesperus, Colorado. Additional non-traditional assets encompass the Durango Collection textile archive, the Hensler Contemporary Native Art Collection and the Cutter Collection of World Maps housed at the Center of Southwest Studies. The college also maintains a cryptocurrency donation acceptance program.

Fort Lewis College partners with The Denver Foundation to administer the Reisher Scholarship Program, providing need-based aid alongside the institution's Native American tuition waiver. The Fort Lewis College Foundation separately raises and distributes donor-advised scholarship dollars. Major benefactors Marc and Jane Katz have funded the namesake Katz School of Business through directed gifts.

They operate as distinct legal and governance entities. The endowment long-term pool falls under Board of Trustees oversight and holds investable assets. The Fort Lewis College Foundation, managed by its own board and CEO, handles advancement, donor relations and restricted gifts. That separation keeps philanthropic capital outside the investment pool.

No. The college does not publicly break down endowment allocation percentages, specific fund commitments or investment manager relationships. The $32.9 million estimate reflects Altss internal research rather than a firm disclosure.

The college holds a federal mandate to provide tuition-free education to Native American and Alaska Native students, dating to its origin on a former Indian boarding school site. That gives the endowment a dual mission: preserve purchasing power for general institutional support while funding a demographic promise unmatched by peer public colleges. The separate foundation structure further layers governance across investment and philanthropic functions.

Fort Lewis College maintains memberships in NACUBO, AGB and CASE, connecting its finance and governance teams to national higher-education standards. A group called Professional Associates serves as an internal advisory body drawing community leaders and professionals to consult on college strategy. No external OCIO relationship is publicly confirmed.