Grassley, Welch announce college endowment roundtable PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 25 August 2008 19:00

Washington, D.C. - Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Peter Welch willconvene a roundtable discussion titled, Maximizing the Use of EndowmentFunds and Making Higher Education More Affordable, on Monday, September 8,2008, in the Senate Finance Committee Hearing Room, Senate Dirksen OfficeBuilding, Room 215.

UVMPresident Daniel Fogel to speak

Washington, D.C. - Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Peter Welch willconvene a roundtable discussion titled, Maximizing the Use of EndowmentFunds and Making Higher Education More Affordable, on Monday, September 8,2008, in the Senate Finance Committee Hearing Room, Senate Dirksen OfficeBuilding, Room 215.

In recent years, college costs have skyrocketed.  Tuition has risen attwice the rate of per capita income. At the same time, the value of thewealthiest college and university endowments, which institutions of highereducation grow through tax deductible contributions and untaxed investmentincome, has risen dramatically.

The roundtable will explore the relationship between endowment value andcollege cost, the legal and accounting definitions of what an endowment is, andthe impact of legislation requiring a mandatory payout from endowment funds. Itwill begin at 12:30 p.m. with remarks from Senator Grassley and RepresentativeWelch and will consist of three panel discussions.

Panel 1 (1:00 - 2:00) - Understanding College Costs

This panel will examine the causes and implications of the rapidly risingcollege costs and tuition rates.  Confirmed speakers are Blake Naughton(Analyst, Congressional Research Service), Daniel Fogel (President, Universityof Vermont), and Molly Corbett Broad (President, American Council onEducation).

Panel 2 (2:00 - 3:00) - What is an Endowment?

This panel will examine the legal, fiduciary, and accounting aspects ofdefining an endowment fund for purposes of determining a mandatory payout.Confirmed speakers are John Walda (President and CEO, National Association ofCollege and University Business Officers), John Mattie, CPA (Partner,PricewaterhouseCoopers), Jeff Mechanick, CPA (Project Manager, FinancialAccounting Standards Board), and Iris Goodwin (Professor, University ofTennessee, College of Law).

Panel 3 (3:00 - 4:00) - Are Mandatory Payouts Beneficial?

This panel will explore the history and effectiveness of the mandatorypayout requirement for private foundations and the impact of such a requirementon the growth of college and university endowments as well as college tuition.Confirmed speakers are Shirley Tilghman (Vice-Chair, Association of AmericanUniversities and President, Princeton University), Anthony Marx (President,Amherst College), Lynne Munson (Adjunct Fellow, Center for CollegeAffordability and Productivity), Michael Klausner, Esq. (Professor, StanfordLaw School).

Other invited guests include representatives from education advocacyorganizations, higher education associations, lawyers, accountants andgovernment officials.  Members of the general public will be able toattend on a space-available basis and may submit comments or papers to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Press inquiries should be directed to Jill Gerber (Grassley) at 202/224-6522or Andrew Savage (Welch) at 202/225-4115.  Please direct all otherinquiries to Peter Ambler of Welch's office or Theresa Pattara of the SenateFinance Committee Republican staff.

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