ATLANTA – November 10, 2022 – Following an extensive search, globally renowned HBCU Spelman College has appointed TIFF Investment Management (“TIFF”) as its outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) to steward its $500 million endowment and to continue the 29-year history of sustaining and strengthening the College’s endowment.
“The primary goal of our endowment is to ensure intergenerational equity, which creates access to educational opportunities for students both today and tomorrow,” said Helene D. Gayle, president of Spelman College. “TIFF demonstrates a clear understanding of our vision and priorities, and we are pleased to welcome their team to the Spelman family.”
“Spelman has an incredible culture, and we know that preserving the health of the endowment as we promote its growth will contribute to greater opportunity for the College’s students, staff and alumnae,” said Jessica Portis, head of member portfolio management and services of TIFF Investment Management. “We are deeply committed to ensuring that Spelman’s academic and investment excellence persists for decades to come.”
Spelman College, a private, historically Black college and a global leader in the education of women of African descent, is dedicated to the intellectual, creative, ethical, and leadership development of its students. With its strength in the liberal arts and in the sciences, Spelman empowers the whole woman to create positive, lasting change on campus and beyond.
“In our search for an investment partner, we wanted to be sure that their investment philosophy and values were aligned with our own mission,” said Dawn Alston, vice president for business affairs, chief financial officer, and treasurer at Spelman College. “A commitment to best practice throughout the portfolio, including a history of proactively sourcing diverse managers, strong active returns, and expertise in private equity, was of utmost importance to us.”
“We could not be happier to be a key contributor to Spelman’s continued success. We are keenly aware that Danny Flanigan and the broader Spelman team positioned the endowment well and we will strive to live up to that level of excellence on behalf of Spelman,” said Kane Brenan, chief executive officer of TIFF Investment Management.
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About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Spelman is the country's leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The College’s status is confirmed by the U.S. News & World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 51 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 19 for undergraduate teaching, No. 5 for social mobility among liberal arts colleges, and No. 1 for the 16th year among historically Black colleges and universities. The Wall Street Journal has ranked the College No. 3, nationally, in terms of student satisfaction. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU, and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, and collaborations have been established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones.
To learn more, please visit spelman.edu and @spelmancollege on social media.
About TIFF Investment Management
Founded in 1991, TIFF is a leading asset management firm dedicated to delivering comprehensive outsourced CIO (OCIO) and private equity investment solutions to primarily endowments, foundations, and other charitable institutions. TIFF helps clients determine the right investment structure for their organization through customized strategic asset allocation advice. The organization is known for its focus on delivering exceptional investment returns and top-notch service to clients.
TIFF is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania and has an office in Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit TIFF.org.