LaGrange College Endowment

LaGrange College Endowment

LaGrange College, founded in 1831 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church, pools its financial assets into an endowment managed under the oversight of the Board of Trustees, currently chaired by Kathy R. McCollum. President Susanna L. Baxter leads the institution, while Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations Marty Pirrman handles day-to-day stewardship of the fund. The corpus supports student aid, academic programs, and campus facilities that include the Lamar Dodd Art Center, whose permanent collections hold European and American Indian art alongside a cache of photography masterworks. Strategy spans diversified assets, distressed debt, mezzanine, and secondaries, with a fund-of-funds overlay that provides the small endowment with manager access beyond what a direct portfolio would command. The college has historically relied on its real-estate footprint—the main campus on Broad Street, the Callaway Campus, and residential holdings like Broad Street Apartments—as a durable source of operational stability. Major philanthropic co-investors include the Callaway Foundation, which has donated over $35 million toward campus facilities. Headquartered in LaGrange, Georgia, the endowment operates as a single institutional pool rather than a constellation of philanthropic sub-funds. LaGrange College is a member of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and the Georgia Independent College Association (GICA), and holds accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The endowment's structure is straightforward: a committee-governed perpetual capital pool that functions as a true operating reserve. Its care is embedded within the college's finance operation rather than delegated to an external OCIO—a governance choice that keeps investment decisions close to campus leadership.