GW to outsource management of $1.375 billion endowment

Joining a growing trend of universities outsourcing services and functions traditionally done in-house, George Washington University this month said it was enlisting an outside investment firm to manage the school's $1.375 billion endowment fund.

Administrators say the outsourcing, in an age of rising tuition and tighter institutional budgets, can lower costs and allow schools to focus on their core educational mission. From bookstores and landscaping to email and finances, the ivory tower...