U.S. college endowments performed better than the DOW Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and the Standard & Poor’s 500 during the last fiscal year, and Kent State is no exception.

Nationwide, higher-education endowments returned an average of 9.3 percent during the 2005 fiscal year, making it the third year in a row that college endowments have earned profit.

Kent State’s endowments earned 8.2 percent in the same time period, said Michael Strebler, director of the Kent State University Foundation. Strebler said that Kent State’s endowment returns were still positive, despite being below the national average.

“There are some monster schools out there that affect the average,” he said. “Kent State is in the $70-80 million range, not the $20 billion range like some universities.”

The Foundation divides its investments between mutual funds, and returns can hinge on the performance of the manager of each fund.

“Our funds did better than our benchmark, which was 8.1 percent,” Strebler said.

– Derek Lenehan