Hofstra University's endowment grew to $884M last year. Molloy, LIU and Stony Brook also saw big gains.
Hofstra University in Hempstead is Long Island's wealthiest higher education institution. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Four Long Island universities made big gains in their endowments last year, outperforming institutions across the country, a new report shows.
The region’s wealthiest higher education institution, Hofstra University in Hempstead, saw its endowment exceed $884 million last year, a gain of 12% from the year before, the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the nonprofit Commonfund Institute reported Wednesday.
The next-largest local endowment was SUNY Stony Brook Foundation’s fund of nearly $521 million, up almost 33% from the previous year.
Long Island University’s endowment of $462 million made a 17% annual gain, and Molloy University’s endowment increased by 14% annually to $56 million, according to the report.
The report includes information from more than 650 colleges, universities and affiliated foundations that responded to the voluntary survey. Hofstra, SUNY Stony Brook Foundation, LIU and Molloy were the only Long Island institutions included in the report.
The four universities' gains outpaced the national median increase of 11.3%, the report found.
Harvard leads the way
The nation’s top-ranked endowment was Harvard University’s nearly $52 billion fund, which amounted to an average of more than $2.1 million for each full-time student. Rounding out the top five in the country were the University of Texas system, Yale University, Stanford University and the Trustees of Princeton University, according to the report.
New York’s best-funded institution was the Trustees of Columbia University, where the nearly $31 billion endowment amounted to almost $478,000 per student. Other New York institutions near the top of the rankings were Cornell University, New York University, the University of Rochester and Rockefeller University.
Of the institutions that participated in the survey, Hofstra ranked 13th in New York and 155th in the country. Nationally, Stony Brook ranked 210th, Long Island University came in 224th and Molloy was 572th, according to the report.
Hofstra’s fund added up to an average of $92,820 for each full-time student, making it by far the best-funded institution in the region, the report found. The per-student averages were about $41,000 at Long Island University, more than $20,000 at Stony Brook and about $15,400 at Molloy.
Hofstra had its “best fundraising year on record” in 2024, Terry Coniglio, a spokesperson for the university, said in a statement. The 90-year-old institution received its largest-ever donation for undergraduate education and the second-largest gift in its history when Hofstra graduate Charles C. Frei gave $35 million to fund undergraduate scholarships for students at the Frank G. Zarb School of Business, according to the university.
Hofstra “is pleased to see strong investment returns, reflecting our careful stewardship of the endowment and long-term financial planning,” Coniglio said. “The endowment plays a critical role in supporting our students, faculty and academic programs by funding scholarships, faculty research and initiatives that further Hofstra’s mission.”
At Stony Brook University, every endowment donation is matched by the state of New York and also by a $500 million donation from Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation, Scott Barrett, interim vice president for advancement, said in a statement.
“These two matching challenges triple the impact of every endowment gift and are helping to drive the growth of the university’s endowment,” he said. “As the University balances a broad range of influences on its financial outlook, growth in endowment support is tremendously helpful in ensuring Stony Brook’s future.”
At Molloy, in Rockville Centre, interim chief financial officer Steve Hietsch said in a statement that the financial outlook “is positive, as enrollments have been growing after the challenges brought by the pandemic and through the creation of high-demand academic programs."
Founded in 1955 by the Sisters of Saint Dominic, Molloy is "a relatively young institution with an endowment that represents the size and age of the university,” he said. Molloy uses 5% of its endowment to fund operations, and it has endowed funds that are designated for scholarships and academic programs, he said.
The report released Wednesday showed that participating colleges and universities nationwide had a median endowment of $243 million. At almost 30% of institutions, endowments were $100 million or less.
Overall, nearly half of endowment spending — 48% — went to financial aid. Almost 18% funded academic programs, about 11% paid for endowed faculty positions and 6.7% helped fund operation and maintenance of facilities, the report showed. The participating institutions relied on endowments to fund 15% of their operating expenses.
In a statement, National Association of College and University Business Officers president and chief executive Kara D. Freeman said, “Faculty and staff certainly benefit from this philanthropy but students remain the primary beneficiaries, as the bulk of these resources is used to maintain student aid and affordability.”
Maura McDermott is a reporter on the investigations desk. Since starting at Newsday in 2012, she has also covered real estate and the business of health care.
