# University of Tulsa

University of Tulsa is an Endowment / Foundation based in Tulsa, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** Tulsa, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 800 S. Tucker Dr., Tulsa, OK 74104, United States
- **Founded:** 1894
- **Assets under management:** $1.28B (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** utulsa.edu
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-tulsa/

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The University of Tulsa Endowment was established alongside the university's founding in 1894 by Presbyterian settlers in what was then Indian Territory. Today it operates as the financial engine for a private research institution with roughly 3,700 students, channeling endowment contributions into a perpetuity pool where annual distributions fund university operations and the remainder compounds. The endowment deploys capital across a broad venture mandate, with confirmed stage coverage spanning pre-seed, seed, and Series A. Asset-class exposure includes venture capital (general), early-stage direct investments, buyouts, growth equity, secondaries, and natural resources. The portfolio leans heavily into technology, with active focuses in AI/ML, cybersecurity, enterprise software, robotics, and energy transition. Direct startup investing is channeled through Hurricane Ventures, led by Connor Sitton, which backs university-affiliated startups. The endowment is also a partner institution of Osage University Partners, a venture firm that invests in spinouts from top research universities — giving TU access to deal flow across a consortium of peer institutions. Geographic focus remains North America. The endowment's scale is estimated at $1.28 billion (Altss estimate). Tulsa's broader civic-funder ecosystem — notably the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the William K. Warren Foundation — intersects with university governance and project financing, including the management agreement for the city-owned Gilcrease Museum and the collaborative acquisition of the Bob Dylan Archive. The endowment's institutional memberships include NACUBO, the Association of Governing Boards, and the Tulsa Higher Education Consortium, while leadership circles extend to the Young Presidents' Organization Tulsa chapter. The endowment's venture exposure runs through a distinctive hybrid: it operates a student-managed investment fund alongside a direct-investing venture arm, Hurricane Ventures. This dual structure — blending educational mandate with proprietary deal flow — is uncommon among university endowments of comparable size. The arrival of President Leeds, a sitting foundation trustee and legal scholar of tribal sovereignty, may further orient the institution's investment governance around community-rooted, long-duration capital deployment.

## Sectors

- AI/ML
- Cybersecurity
- Data Analytics
- Digital Health
- EdTech
- Energy Transition & Renewables
- Enterprise Software
- GovTech
- Healthcare Services
- Industrial Tech
- InsurTech
- Mobility & Transportation
- RegTech
- Robotics & Automation
- SpaceTech
- Workflow Automation

## People

- Robert Thomas Jr. — Chief Investment Officer
- Brad R. Carson — President
- Eric Schick — Chief Financial Officer
- Stacy Leeds — Incoming President (effective July 2026)
- Connor Sitton — Director, Hurricane Ventures

## Questions

### How does the University of Tulsa Endowment source its venture deals?

The endowment sources venture deals primarily through two structured channels. Hurricane Ventures, directed by Connor Sitton, invests directly in TU-affiliated and Tulsa-area startups. Additionally, TU is a partner institution of Osage University Partners, which provides access to a proprietary pipeline of spinouts from leading research universities. This dual-approach blends local direct sourcing with a consortium-based, multi-university deal-flow engine.

### What is Hurricane Ventures?

Hurricane Ventures is the University of Tulsa's affiliated venture investment platform, led by Director Connor Sitton. It focuses on pre-seed through Series A investments in startups connected to the university's ecosystem, including faculty, student, and alumni-founded companies. It operates as the endowment's direct-investing arm for university-linked deal flow.

### How is the University of Tulsa Endowment governed?

The endowment is governed as part of the University of Tulsa, a private 501(c)(3) institution. Investment oversight falls to CIO Robert Thomas Jr., with financial management by CFO Eric Schick and executive leadership under President Brad R. Carson through June 2026, after which incoming President Stacy Leeds will assume the role. The endowment maintains memberships in NACUBO and the Association of Governing Boards for institutional investment governance standards.

### What is the relationship between the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Tulsa?

The George Kaiser Family Foundation is a significant collaborative partner, not a subsidiary or affiliate of the endowment. The partnership has included joint acquisition of cultural assets — most notably the Bob Dylan Archive and the Woody Guthrie Center archives — and co-investment in Tulsa-based community and educational initiatives. The foundation's principals also intersect with university governance through board-level engagement.

### What role do students play in managing the endowment's assets?

The University of Tulsa operates a Student Investment Fund (SIF), a portfolio managed by students as an educational program under faculty and investment office supervision. The SIF provides experiential learning in securities analysis and portfolio management, separate from the endowment's core institutional portfolio, though it reflects the university's broader commitment to blending its educational mission with investment operations.

### Is the University of Tulsa Endowment exposed to real assets beyond venture capital?

Yes. Beyond venture and growth equity, the endowment's strategy includes natural resources and secondaries. The university also holds substantial physical assets, including the Gilcrease Museum campus and collection, the Helmerich Center for American Research, the Bob Dylan Archive, and various commercial and land holdings in Tulsa. These represent both mission-driven and investment-grade assets under institutional stewardship.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/university-of-tulsa

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