Building the Bridge: Endowment Governance and Philanthropic Support During and After the Pandemic

AGB Trusteeship Podcast

Join AGB’s George Watt and Bank of America’s Bill Jarvis in a conversation on governance issues facing investment committees and institutional / foundation boards as campuses gradually reopen. Regardless of your institution’s specific situation, Bill emphasizes the importance of knowing three crucial things:

• Where you stand – the risks to which your investment portfolio and institution are exposed, and the effect on them of potential future scenarios;
• Why you stand there – the rationale behind portfolio and institutional structures and how they are intended to work together
• Where you are going – the intersection between science and society that will determine the investment and operational regime in which you will be operating

This conversation is intended to provoke productive thought at a time when decisions are being made in an environment that remains uncertain and very fluid.

Speakers:

Bill Jarvis, Managing Director, Bank of America ([e-mail]) William Jarvis is a managing director with Bank of America based in New York, responsible for strategic thought leadership with institutional and private philanthropic clients. He joined Bank of America in 2017 from Commonfund, where, as the executive director of the Commonfund Institute, he led that firm’s educational, research and professional development activities. He holds a BA in English literature from Yale University, a JD from the Northwestern University School of Law, and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He does not provide legal advice in his role at Bank of America.

George P. Watt, Jr. AGB Senior Fellow George Watt joined AGB as a senior fellow in July 2017, with a focus on AGB’s support of institutionally related foundations. In this role, he assists and advises on programs and research supporting the work of public university foundation boards and business operations, including AGB’s annual Foundation Leadership Forum, which brings together hundreds of board members and CEOs from across the country for a three-day program focused on governance practice, endowment management, and fundraising leadership. Prior to joining AGB, Mr. Watt served as executive vice president of institutional advancement at the College of Charleston (SC) and executive director of the College of Charleston Foundation. Mr. Watt came to the College of Charleston from the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, where he served for nearly nine years as the joint president and chief executive officer. Mr. Watt previously held executive positions with First Union Corporation’s Enterprise Solutions Group, as well as IBM Consulting Group’s North American Financial Services practice. He is a 1973 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holds the retired rank of Captain, U.S. Navy.