Permanent University Fund

From Freepedia

The Permanent University Fund (PUF) is the primary funding by the state of Texas to its universities.

The PUF was formed by the 1876 Texas Constitution, from which proceeds from leases and royalties on state land would be deposited. The discovery of huge oil reserves in the early 1900's dramatically increased the size of the PUF.

The PUF principal in the fall 2000 was approximately $10 billion, second only to Harvard's endowment. The PUF serves 15 Texas universities in the Texas A&M University System and the University of Texas System. Other Texas public universities outside these two systems, notably University of Houston and Texas Tech University, are prohibited by law from sharing in the income from this endowment. At one time, the PUF was the chief source of income for Texas A&M University at College Station and the University of Texas at Austin, today its revenues account for less than 10 percent of the universities' annual budget. This has challenged the university to increase sponsored research and private donations.