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<p>I had to ask a colleague, and he said it really varies according to the department that the patent came out of. Very rarely, if ever, into the endowment.</p>
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<p>Are you suggesting that an endowment should grow at a rate * less than* inflation? The endowment would be losing value, wouldn’t it? I think that would be extremely poor money management and a terrible stewardship of an institution’s resources. </p>
<p>I think what you’re getting at is that you think some institutions should spend a larger portion of the proceeds from the endowment, or dedicate more of it towards the general fund. They spend some of the returns and put the rest back in. You wouldn’t be the first to question is they’re being too conservative in their ratio. But to suggest that they should spend so much that the endowment grows only at the rate of inflation, or below, is one I think you’d have a hard time finding support for. An endowment is supposed to grow, so that in the future the returns will be even higher.</p>