Updated: May 19, 2025 at 1:28 p.m.

The University’s endowment held at $2.7 billion between January and April, trustees shared at their triannual public meeting on Friday.

Outgoing Board of Trustees Secretary Ave Tucker said the University’s endowment, a pool of funds and investments gifted to the University by donors and managed by Strategic Investment Group, “remains high” at $2.7 billion as of March 31. The University’s endowment has grown by nearly $1 billion since fiscal year 2020, despite fluctuations — including a $200 million drop in fall 2024 from its $2.8 billion peak to $2.6 billion, a level GW has yet to fully regain.

The University’s endowment is invested in several areas, including hedge funds, private equity and real estate. Its continued growth is driven by investment returns and philanthropic contributions from alumni, faculty, staff, students and other supporters.

GW’s endowment ranked 60th nationally in FY2021, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’ most recent data. Among its peer institutions, seven — including Georgetown and Boston universities — held higher endowments than GW, while five had lower-ranked endowments, per the data.

University President Ellen Granberg said in her report that the University has “not yet” experienced federal disruptions on the same scale other institutions of higher education have despite the National Institutes of Health’s cancellation of some federal research grants. She said officials continue to take proactive steps to “store” the University’s resources and monitor federal developments.

Provost Chris Bracey, Chief Financial Officer Bruno Fernandes and Chief of Staff Scott Mory said in an email late last month that GW will cut its FY2026 total expense budget by 3 percent to address a “structural deficit” after the University’s expenses surpassed their current revenues in recent years.

A senior White House official said late last month Trump’s administration has no “forthcoming” actions against GW despite their federal crackdown on universities nationwide.

“Even in the face of these challenges, though, the University continues to make very good progress along a number of fronts,” Granberg said. 

Granberg also said officials have narrowed the search for the next vice president for University advancement to succeed current Vice President Donna Arbide after she announced she intended to step down from the role in January. She said her appointed committee for the replacement search narrowed candidates down to three finalists who will visit campus next week.

She said officials will announce the next vice president “shortly,” but didn’t specify a timeline.

Granberg said the search committee for the next dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health is continuing its work that began in January and is currently conducting interviews. She said officials hope to name the new Milken dean “before the summer” after the University announced in October current Dean Lynn Goldman would step down on June 30 after nearly 15 years in the role. 

Granberg said Bracey expects to announce an interim dean for the Graduate School of Education and Human Development “relatively soon” to replace current Dean Michael Feuer, who will step down from his position on July 1 after 15 years. 

Staff Council President Kim Fulmer said during her report that staff continue to “weather a storm” as they face “deferred or eliminated” merit salary increases in July, concerns over return-to-office mandates and delays in filling vacant positions. These delays stem from the position review process implemented by officials in February, which requires University leadership to approve all faculty and staff hiring and promotion requests, Fulmer said.

Fernandes said at an April Staff Council meeting that hybrid and remote work policies have not changed but will be reviewed by officials during the summer in collaboration with the Staff Council and other University groups to decide the best structure going forward. Officials also announced in late April that the position review process will sunset on June 30 as GW undergoes the University-wide budget cuts.

Fulmer said officials “must act quickly” to retain their staff members, adding they need to take steps to reduce burnout that was exasperated by officials’ merit increase halts. She said staff rely on their annual raises to keep up with increasing costs of community, childcare, rent and taxes. 

“What actions has the University taken to improve the staff experience?” Fulmer asked. “I’ll tell you. They are cutting compensation and considering return-to-work mandates.”

GW Alumni Association President Maxwell Gocala-Nguyen said the association is “steadily approaching” its $14 million annual goal of giving and have now received more $11.8 million ahead of its June 30 end date. Last year, the association set a $12.9 million goal and surpassed $11 million by mid-May, Gocala-Nguyen reported. 

Gocala-Nguyen also said the GW Alumni Association is rebranding itself to GW Alumni to reflect a “more cohesive partnership” with alumni relations staff and reinforce the association’s commitment to all GW alumni. He said many alumni in the DMV area have a “strong desire” to engage more with the community but feel that their current engagement with GW is only for the University to solicit donations. 

Outgoing Student Government Association President Ethan Fitzgerald said in his final report to the Board that he wants improved shared governance to shape the future of the SGA’s relationship with administration, where students have direct voting power on the Board. He said the future of the University depends on collaboration between community members and urged the Board to work with the SGA on advancing shared governance initiatives by including student voting power. 

Trustees most recently rejected an SGA resolution in 2023 that requested the Board add voting student trustees. Officials declined to comment on why the Board would not consider adding student voices to the Board or if it was a possibility in the future.

SGA President Ethan Lynne said during his speech that recent budget challenges should not impact already struggling students, and students require a campus environment where they can express their personal identities without fear of discrimination. He called on officials to ensure budget cuts don’t impact programs that allow students to express their identities, including those within the Multicultural Student Services Center and Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement.

Officials announcement of the FY2026 budget reduction said “each school and unit” will prepare a budget that incorporates a 3 percent reduction.

“Students must feel empowered to engage in challenging discussions, explore controversial ideas and voice dissenting opinions without institutional censorship,” Lynne said.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Chair Katrin Schultheiss, who assumed the role on May 9, said the Faculty Senate will continue its future work on University “financial issues” that will “undoubtedly” affect the institution’s academic mission, like potential restrictions on travel and research funding for faculty. She said the Faculty Senate will continue discussing academic freedom and students’ free speech concerns, along with the question of adopting institutional neutrality. 

Schultheiss said she wants to “stress” the importance of the role artificial intelligence has in “reshaping” and “upending” learning environments for students. 

“I think that needs to be addressed in a very focused and effective manner,” Schultheiss said. 

Trustees unanimously passed resolutions to recognize Arbide, Feuer, Goldman, Feldman and interim School of Business Dean Vanessa Perry for their service and commitment to the University as they step down from their respective positions.

Trustees also recognized Tucker for his service as the secretary of the Board as his term ends on May 31. Trustee Jeffrey Flaks will replace Tucker as secretary. 

Chair Grace Speights and Vice Chair Mark Chichester’s terms were also supposed to come to an end May 31, but the Board amended their bylaws on last summer and added a clause that allows Board management to serve an additional year in their role, if agreed upon by two-thirds of trustees. Officials did not specify why the bylaws were amended or what constitutes as an “extraordinary extension.”

Tyler Iglesias and Elijah Edwards contributed reporting.

This post was updated to correct the following:

A previous version of this post said SGA President Ethan Lynne said students must be empowered to voice their opinion “about” institutional censorship. It has been updated to reflect that Lynne said students must be able to voice their opinion “without” institutional censorship.