Kettering University Endowment

Marsha Bewersdorf, Vice President of Administration and Finance and Treasurer to the Board of Trustees, has fiscal authority over the endowment. The university has not disclosed a dedicated chief investment officer, which is consistent with a board-level investment committee or outsourced OCIO arrangement common among smaller endowments. President Robert K. McMahan provides strategic oversight but day-to-day management falls under Bewersdorf's domain (per public record).

Both institutions are headquartered in Flint, Michigan, and share a long philanthropic history with the university. The Mott Foundation is independently governed with its own investment team and over $3 billion in assets. No public documentation confirms formal co-investment vehicles between the two entities, though their proximity and board overlaps make informal information-sharing plausible.

The endowment does not publish detailed asset-class breakdowns. Given Kettering's identity as a STEM-heavy cooperative education school with durable automotive industry ties, its VC exposure is likely concentrated in mobility, advanced manufacturing, and industrial technology. The university's ownership of the GM Mobility Research Center reinforces this thematic lens, but specific fund commitments or direct investments are not publicly disclosed.

Sourcing relies heavily on the university's alumni network, which includes senior executives across the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Kettering's cooperative education model places students inside operating companies, creating an informal pipeline of industry intelligence. The endowment participates in Commonfund Institute pools, which provide access to diversified manager rosters typical of endowments in its cohort (per public record).

The absence of a publicly listed CIO or internal investment staff suggests an outsourced model, likely through Commonfund or another OCIO provider serving mid-sized endowments. NACUBO membership indicates participation in industry-standard endowment practices, but the university has not disclosed a specific OCIO mandate. The Board of Trustees retains ultimate fiduciary responsibility under Marsha Bewersdorf's treasury function.

The endowment's footprint includes direct ownership of the GM Mobility Research Center, a testing and validation facility in Flint, and the mixed-use Learning Commons. These real assets represent an unusual direct-ownership overlay that larger endowments achieve only through dedicated real-asset portfolios. The MRC, in particular, provides a revenue-generating asset tied to the automotive sector's electrification transition.

No explicit exclusions are published. As a STEM-focused university with strong ties to heavy industry, the endowment is unlikely to screen out fossil fuels or defense in the manner of some coastal institutions. The school has not disclosed an ESG policy, and its Flint roots suggest pragmatic rather than value-based portfolio construction.