Endowed Impact Report FISCAL YEAR 2025
Endowment at a Glance |
ENDOWMENT MANAGEMENT
The University is responsible for ensuring that gifts to the endowment support their intended purposes. Gifts are invested in the University’s diversified endowment portfolio. The Capital Planning and Investment Committee of the Board of Directors and senior financial management oversee investments with guidance from independent investment advisors. The Committee establishes investment policies aimed at achieving optimal returns with acceptable levels of risk.
ENDOWMENT POLICY
The endowment policy balances long-term asset growth and support for University programs. Key components include asset investment strategy and endowment spending, designed to achieve intergenerational equity — ensuring endowed assets benefit both current and future generations. The Board’s Committee regularly reviews the asset allocation and monitors investment performance. In fiscal year 2025, the endowment’s diversified investments, including private equity and venture capital, contributed to strong returns. The University cautions against assessing performance over shortterm periods, as the goal is long-term sustainability. The endowment ranked in the upper quartile in the NACUBO Study of Endowments, comparing 658 institutions for 3-, 5-, 10-, and 15- year returns.
ENDOWMENT PAYOUT AND SPENDING POLICY
The spending rate is approved annually by the Board of Directors during the budget adoption process. This rate, adjusted by a smoothing provision, is based on a weighted average of prior spending, inflation, and current market value. The Board can also authorize additional spending when necessary. In fiscal year 2025, the Board approved $2 million in additional spending to support enrollment marketing initiatives.
INVESTMENT GOVERNANCE
The Capital Planning and Investment Committee oversees the endowment investments. The Committee, composed of members with extensive financial management experience, is responsible for developing investment policy, selecting and evaluating investment managers, and recommending asset allocation and spending policies.
as of June 30, 2025
of June 30, 2025
$331,158,000
ENDOWMENT VALUE as of June 30, 2025
ENDOWMENT SPENDING as of June 30, 2025 $20,113,000
NEW GIFTS MADE TO ENDOWMENT $2,913,000
817
APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF ENDOWED FUNDS
Building Futures | THE IMPACT OF
DANKIS CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP
The Dankis Christian Foundation Scholarship was established in October 2020 and provides scholarship assistance to students who demonstrate a passion for improving the lives of others in need through community service and/or extracurricular activities, as well as a strong GPA and test scores.
“Even in these few post-grad months, I have seen that my years at Valpo were not just ‘beautiful’ or ‘life-changing;’ they were foundational. Thanks to your generosity, my fellow graduates and I are more whole, more confident, and better equipped to take on life than we were when we entered college. Your support is invaluable!”
— Quinlan Scott ’25 Lukas
595
ENDOWED FUND SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED
$7,174,483
TOTAL ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED IN FY25
Associate Project Manager for Centier Bank in Merrillville, Indiana 2024-2025 Dankis Christian Foundation Scholarship Recipient
JOYCE HAGEN ENDOWED FACULTY FELLOWSHIP IN NURSING AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS
The Joyce Hagen Endowed Faculty Fellowship supports faculty members in the College of Nursing and Health Professions to advance scholarly, pedagogical, or teaching projects over the summer months.
In 2024-2025, the Joyce Hagen Endowed Faculty Fellowship enabled Clinical Assistant Professor Gass ’17, ’20 MSN, RN to dedicate the necessary time to studying best practices for integrating virtual reality (VR) into nursing education. Professor Gass and her colleagues, Clinical Assistant Professors Bailey Regier, MSN, RN, CNE, and Karen Hernes, MSN, CNE, developed a pilot study that introduced immersive VR simulations and classroom-based collaborative VR simulations into undergraduate courses in pediatric and adult health nursing. Through head-mounted displays, students engaged in immersive clinical scenarios set in realistic virtual healthcare settings, allowing them to safely practice assessments, interventions, and decision-making during patient care. More than 95% of students reported increased confidence in prioritizing care and responding to changes in patient conditions after the simulations. Additionally, Professor Gass and her colleagues presented their findings at national conferences, positioning Valpo as an early leader in VR-based nursing education. They also developed a practical framework to help other faculty integrate these simulations into their courses.
“Thanks to this fellowship, I was able to explore emerging evidence about immersive VR as a teaching tool, lead meaningful research, and help position Valpo at the forefront of innovation in nursing education.”
— Grace Gass ’17, ’20 MSN, RN Clinical Assistant Professor 2024-2025 Joyce Hagen Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Nursing and Health Professions Recipient
PASTOR HUBERT NELSON, PASTOR ROBERT MURSCH ’ 63, AND PASTOR LOREN NIELSEN PEER MINISTRY ENDOWED FUND
The Pastor Hubert Nelson, Pastor Robert Mursch ’63, and Pastor Loren Nielsen Peer Ministry Endowed Fund was established in April 2020 and supports students and activities within the University’s Peer Ministry Program.
This fund ensures that peer ministers are present in every freshman residence hall and in each upper-class hall, offering students ongoing pastoral care, mentorship, and programming that strengthens community life.
Because of this endowment, the program has expanded to serve new student populations, including commuters, athletes, sorority and fraternity members, and those engaged in the Office of Multicultural Programs. This growth allows peer ministers to walk alongside more students, meeting them where they are and providing guidance during the challenges of college life.
Last year, the program included 14 peer ministers as well as two team leads, who together devoted more than 1,500 hours to providing ministry services across campus. Since its beginnings in 2003, more than 200 students have served as peer ministers, continuing a tradition of studentled care that enriches the campus community.
“One testament to the power of Peer Ministry: each year when we conduct interviews for the team, a number of candidates say that they are applying because their Peer Minister had such an impact on their life. In this way, Peer Ministry plants seeds of kindness and community that grow in each class of Valpo students. A Peer Minister provides friendship and support for a student during a crucial time, and then they want to pass that gift on to others.”
— Rev. Katherine Museus, M.Div. University Pastor
Advancement
Heritage Hall
510 Freeman Street
Valparaiso, IN 46383
Email: donorrelations@valpo.edu
Phone: 219.464.5968
Website: give.valpo.edu