Brown U. reports steep drop in endowment

PROVIDENCE—Brown University is reporting a steep drop in its endowment.

The Ivy League school says the value of its endowment fell nearly 27 percent to $2.04 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30.

The university says the investment return for its endowment declined 23.1 percent during the same period.

Brown has made more than $35 million in budget cuts for fiscal year 2010 in anticipation of the endowment loss.

The endowment paid out $132 million for operations during fiscal year 2009, and Brown received $44 million in new endowment gifts.