# The University of the South — Sewanee

The University of the South — Sewanee is an Endowment / Foundation based in Sewanee, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Sewanee, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Sewanee, TN, United States
- **Founded:** 1857
- **Assets under management:** $500M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** sewanee.edu
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/university-of-the-south

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The University of the South was chartered in 1857 and operates today as a private Episcopal liberal arts college governed by a Board of Trustees elected by 28 owning dioceses. The endowment exists primarily to fund financial aid and operations for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Theology. In 2025, the institution named Isabelle Love — formerly of Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO) and Goldman Sachs — as CFO and Vice President for Administration, signaling an intent to bring Princeton-model portfolio sophistication to Sewanee's investment office. The endowment allocates across venture capital, growth equity, buyout, mezzanine, fund-of-funds positions, and natural resources including timberland. The university directly manages the 13,000-acre Domain, a land asset held since the 19th century, and operates limited partnerships tied to timber and natural resources. The Sewanee Village Ventures initiative, led by Vice President David Shipps, represents a direct real estate development play converting university-owned land adjacent to campus into a mixed-use commercial district — a move that turns a passive land holding into an active income-producing asset. Sewanee's investment management is overseen by Board of Regents member and Investment Committee Chair Sandy Guitar. The committee includes Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen and Regent James Folds Jr., maintaining a compact governance structure typical of institutions at this AUM scale. The endowment participates in NACUBO and the Annapolis Group, tracking comparably sized liberal arts college portfolios. The university also holds an unusual intellectual property asset: the copyrights to Tennessee Williams' works, donated by the playwright himself. The institution's most telling structural differentiator is its ecclesiastical ownership model. Twenty-eight dioceses elect the Board of Trustees, linking fiduciary duty to a specific religious constituency in a way few other endowed liberal arts colleges replicate. This governance framework constrains mission drift and preserves the university's identity — an architectural feature that influences investment time horizon and illiquidity tolerance more than any single portfolio decision.

## Sectors

- Education
- Real Estate
- Timber
- Natural Resources
- Venture (General)
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Rob Pearigen — Vice-Chancellor and President
- Sandy Guitar — Chair of the Investment Committee, Board of Regents
- Isabelle Love — Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administration
- James Folds Jr. — Board of Regents, Investment Management Committee
- David Shipps — Vice President for Economic Development, Lead for Sewanee Village Ventures

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Sewanee?

Sandy Guitar chairs the Investment Management Committee, which operates under the Board of Regents. The Vice-Chancellor, Rob Pearigen, and Regent James Folds Jr. also serve on the committee. In 2025, Sewanee hired Isabelle Love, a former PRINCO professional, as CFO, adding significant endowment-management experience to the daily operations.

### Does Sewanee's endowment invest directly in private companies, or through funds?

Sewanee does both. The endowment participates in fund-of-funds structures, commits to external venture capital and growth equity funds, and also makes direct investments including real assets held on the university's balance sheet. The institution's strategy tags include early-stage venture, buyout, and mezzanine, alongside natural resources limited partnerships.

### What is the Sewanee Village Ventures project?

Sewanee Village Ventures is a direct real estate development initiative converting university-owned land adjacent to campus into a mixed-use commercial district. Vice President David Shipps leads the effort. The project transforms a passive land holding into an active, campus-adjacent income-producing asset that supports both the university's operating budget and broader town-gown economic development goals.

### Does Sewanee hold any unusual assets beyond the standard endowment portfolio?

Yes. The university owns the 13,000-acre Domain, a forested campus landholding actively managed through natural resources limited partnerships. It also controls the copyrights of playwright Tennessee Williams, a bequest from Williams himself. Additionally, the University Art Gallery's permanent collection and the mixed-use Sewanee Village development round out a set of physical and intellectual property assets uncommon among liberal arts endowments of similar scale.

## Related profiles

- [St. Louis Community Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/st-louis-community-foundation-inc)
- [University of Alaska Foundation](https://altss.com/profile/university-of-alaska-foundation)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/the-university-of-the-south-sewanee

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology