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Hopkins School
Hopkins School opened in 1660 with a bequest from Connecticut Colony governor Edward Hopkins, making it the third-oldest independent school in the country.
Hopkins School
Hopkins School opened in 1660 with a bequest from Connecticut Colony governor Edward Hopkins, making it the third-oldest independent school in the country. Head of School Matt Glendinning and CFO David Baxter now steward an endowment built partly by the Malone family—alumnus John C. Malone has directed over $75 million to the institution—alongside a committee of trustees led by Gwen E. Evans. The fund operates from a single campus on Forest Road in New Haven. The endowment pursues a deliberately diversified strategy across asset classes. Confirmed allocations include private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, and hedge funds, with a footprint that spans North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania, and South America. The investment committee targets direct co-investments and SPVs alongside traditional fund commitments, backing companies in healthcare services, fintech, proptech, sports and wellness, and data analytics. Sector tilts also include biotech, consumer tech, enterprise software, and web3—with a stage appetite ranging from seed and early-stage startups through growth and pre-IPO rounds. The endowment's operational footprint is compact, concentrated in New Haven, but its philanthropic architecture includes the Pathfinder Program, which channels resources toward scholarship and access initiatives. The school maintains professional affiliations with the National Association of Independent Schools, the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, and athletic bodies like NEPSAC and the Fairchester Athletic Association—all of which reinforce the institution's regional and national standing among peer endowments. The structural differentiator is longevity: Hopkins School has no external LPs, no redemption pressure, and a 364-year track record of capital preservation for a single educational mission. That time horizon allows the investment committee to absorb illiquidity in venture and direct co-investments that shorter-duration allocators cannot replicate, while the Malone family's sustained giving pattern creates a recurring capital inflow that blurs the line between an endowment and a single-family philanthropic vehicle.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1660
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New Haven
Corporate office
986 Forest Road, New Haven, CT 06515, United States
Principals
Matt Glendinning
Head of School
Gwen E. Evans
President of the Committee of Trustees
David Baxter
Chief Financial and Operating Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
How does Hopkins School's endowment structure its investment portfolio?
The endowment allocates across private equity, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure, and hedge funds, with a global geographic mandate covering North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania, and South America. It pursues both direct co-investments and SPVs alongside traditional fund commitments, targeting healthcare services, fintech, proptech, sports and wellness, data analytics, biotech, consumer tech, enterprise software, and web3 opportunities across seed, early-stage, growth, and pre-IPO stages.
Who makes the investment decisions for the Hopkins School endowment?
The Committee of Trustees, led by President Gwen E. Evans, provides fiduciary oversight, while Head of School Matt Glendinning and Chief Financial and Operating Officer David Baxter handle day-to-day management of the endowment's operations. The investment program is supported by the trustees and external manager relationships, though the school does not publicly name a dedicated chief investment officer.
What is John C. Malone's relationship to Hopkins School?
John C. Malone, the billionaire media magnate, is a Hopkins alumnus and the institution's primary benefactor, having donated over $75 million to the school through the years. The Malone Family Foundation is also a significant donor to the endowment and scholarship programs, creating a deep, multi-decade philanthropic tie that functions as a recurring capital source for the school's financial base.
Does the Hopkins School endowment operate like a family office?
While it is structurally an educational endowment, the school's investment posture shares features with a single-family office due to the Malone family's outsized influence and sustained giving. The combination of perpetual time horizon, direct co-investment capability, and a concentrated donor relationship with an ultra-high-net-worth alumnus creates an investing dynamic that mirrors a philanthropic family office more than a typical independent school's pooled fund.
How is the Hopkins School endowment connected to the broader independent school network?
The school maintains professional affiliations with the National Association of Independent Schools and the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, alongside athletic memberships in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council and the Fairchester Athletic Association. Its Pathfinder Program operates as the school's primary philanthropic vehicle for scholarship and access initiatives, tying the endowment's financial engine to the institution's educational mission.
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