One-Question Interview: Will Duke spend more of its endowment?
Trask says university already is increasing spending rate
Tallman Trask
Q. Yale University just announced plans to spend a larger percentage of its endowment on programs, from less than 4 percent of the endowment annually to between 4.5 percent and 6.0 percent. Is Duke contemplating making a similar change?
Trask: We already have. With the approval of Duke's trustees, we decided last spring to spend a larger percentage of the university's endowment to fund current activities. We're now spending a bit more than 5 percent of the endowment on an annual basis to help pay for everything from new academic programs to expanded financial aid. When the markets go up, as they did the past several fiscal years, the percentage falls. Duke has had several years of strong performance, which is what led the trustees to approve the upward adjustment. Given recent strong performance, we thought the spending rate had dropped too much, so we adjusted it. All of us entrusted with Duke's financial well-being are always looking for the right balance between meeting strategic needs today and ensuring the university's well-being over the long term.