Dive Brief:
- Johns Hopkins University confirmed Chief Investment Officer Kathryn Crecelius is retiring June 30, setting off a nationwide search for her replacement.
- Crecelius was hired to manage the university’s endowment in 2005, seeing it grow to $3.4 billion.
- As Johns Hopkins’ first CIO, Crecelius was responsible for building a separate investment office staff, according to her bio on the university’s website. Before she arrived, the treasurer’s office handled the endowment.
Dive Insight:
Crecelius’ departure comes as performance of endowments at U.S. colleges are struggling to keep ahead. According to Commonfund and the National Association of College and University Business Officers, endowments on average rose just 2.4% in fiscal year 2015, their worst results in three years, Bloomberg reports.
After hitting $3.5 million in the 2015 fiscal year, Johns Hopkins’ endowment dipped 1.1% to $3.4 billion, Bloomberg notes.
Before joining Johns Hopkins, Crecelius managed marketable alternative investments for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing the portfolio from 5% to more than 20% of MIT’s total endowment. She also oversaw nearly a fifth of retirement plan assets.