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The McCallie School
The McCallie School, founded in 1905 on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, operates as a private college-preparatory institution for boys in grades 6...
The McCallie School
The McCallie School, founded in 1905 on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, operates as a private college-preparatory institution for boys in grades 6 through 12. Its endowment arm is guided by a board with deep ties to institutional finance — notably trustees who are active partners at KKR. Asset allocation spans tangible real estate on and near the 500 Dodds Avenue campus, including a sports and activities center, an outdoor stadium, faculty townhomes, and the jointly owned GPS-McCallie Rowing Center shared with Girls Preparatory School. The fund also carries exposure to commercial real estate and maintains an art and drama collection, reflecting a conservative, property-anchored portfolio closely tied to the school’s physical plant and local Chattanooga relationships. Governance sits with a board that includes Jim Burns, who chaired the Investment Committee, and Nate Taylor — both partners at KKR. Trustee Michael Lebovitz is an executive at CBL & Associates Properties, a publicly traded mall owner also headquartered in Chattanooga. Trustee Ben Probasco is a member of YPO. While the precise level of fund commitments to KKR vehicles is not publicly disclosed, the board’s private-equity expertise shapes the endowment’s access to alternative deal flow unusual for an independent school of McCallie's scale. Notable alumnus Ted Turner, founder of CNN, remains a donor figure linked to the school’s network. McCallie's structural differentiator is its endowment governance: a volunteer board loaded with working private-equity and real-estate operators who bring direct institutional dealflow into a nonprofit K-12 balance sheet — a hybrid posture more often associated with liberal arts colleges than secondary schools.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1905
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Chattanooga
Corporate office
500 Dodds Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37404, United States
Principals
Jim Burns
Trustee, former Investment Committee Chair
Nate Taylor
Trustee
Michael Lebovitz
Trustee
Ben Probasco
Trustee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who oversees investment decisions for McCallie's endowment?
The Board of Trustees holds investment authority, with the Investment Committee chaired at least in recent years by Trustee Jim Burns, a partner at KKR. Trustee Nate Taylor, also a KKR partner, and Trustee Michael Lebovitz of CBL & Associates Properties bring additional real-estate and private-equity expertise to the committee. The school does not publicly name a dedicated internal chief investment officer, relying instead on board-level principal oversight.
How is McCallie's endowment exposed to alternative investments?
The endowment holds direct real estate including faculty townhomes, campus athletic facilities, and the GPS-McCallie Rowing Center co-owned with Girls Preparatory School. While specific fund commitment levels are not disclosed, the presence of senior KKR professionals on the investment committee creates a pipeline for institutional private-equity exposure uncommon among peer secondary schools.
What is McCallie's relationship with KKR?
McCallie is not an official affiliate of KKR, but two of its trustees — Jim Burns and Nate Taylor — are partners at the global private-equity firm. Jim Burns previously chaired the school's Investment Committee, embedding KKR-sourced financial expertise directly into the endowment's decision-making and allocation process.
What real estate assets does McCallie's endowment hold?
The endowment's real-estate holdings include the main campus at 500 Dodds Avenue, a sports and activities center, an outdoor stadium, faculty townhomes in Chattanooga, and a joint ownership stake in the GPS-McCallie Rowing Center. The portfolio is Chattanooga-concentrated and tied to the school's own operations and sister-school partnerships.
Does McCallie maintain a separate philanthropic foundation?
Yes. The McCallie School operates The Founders' Fund, a named philanthropic vehicle that supports the school's mission and capital priorities. It is structurally distinct from the endowment assets but draws from the same donor and alumni community, including notable figures such as CNN founder Ted Turner.
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