In November 2025, Washington and Lee released a report following an independent audit of the university’s finances from July 2024 to June 2025. The fiscal year was record-breaking, according to the report.
New gifts, pledges and estate commitments totaled $197 million during W&L’s last fiscal year, the highest number in university history. Most of it came from a $132 million gift made by Bill Miller III, ’72.
The professional services firm KPMG has audited W&L since 2008. An audit examines an organization’s budget and spending. It also reports on legal standing, risk management and areas for improvement.
W&L had a 10.8% increase in total assets during the last fiscal year, according to the 2025 report. The university’s assets now value almost $2.9 billion as of June 30.
In addition to a record number of gifts, an increase in the value of investments — especially the university’s endowment — contributed to the rise in total assets.
Washington and Lee also received more than $20 million from the Lettie Pate Evans Restricted Fund and the Lettie Pate Evans Whitehead Foundation, according to the university’s report.
Letitia Pate Whitehead Evans was a business woman and philanthropist. Her husband, Joseph B. Whitehead, was one of the original bottlers of Coca-Cola, according to the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation. After he passed, Evans took over control of his business operations, helped grow Coca-Cola and became the first woman to serve on the Coca-Cola board of directors in 1934.
She remains the university’s biggest benefactor because of compounding interest on her original bequest, according to the 2025 report. Her largest gift was 15% of her estate of her foundation’s income annually, according to The Columns.
The university established the Lettie Pate Evans Society in 2025 in honor of Evans and philanthropic women in the W&L community.
“The gift that represented W&L’s original interest in the L.P. Evans Restricted Fund was valued at just over $5 million at the time of her death,” the report said.
Now, the value of her gift to the university from the restricted fund stands at $673.8 million.
W&L spent $217.6 million during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which is $8 million more than the previous period, according to the report.
Operations ran an operating deficit of $3.75 million for 2025, according to the report. In 2024, it had an operating surplus of $1.3 million.
“The swing from surplus to deficit reflected weakened revenue growth, primarily attributable to constrained endowment payout and continued inflationary pressures impacting compensation and goods and services,” auditors said in the report.
The auditors recommended that the university administration address revenues and expenses over the next period to create a balanced budget.
Going forward, Washington and Lee will face challenges from “higher-than-normal inflation” and uncertainty created by regulations and the federal government, according to the report.
“With our continued focus on the implementation of the strategic plan and the capital campaign to support it,” the university said in the 2025 report, “we will ensure the continued sustainability of the institution as one of the premier institutions in higher education.”
The strategic plan said the university’s vision is to support the W&L community, curriculum, citizenship and make improvements to the campus, according to the W&L website. The capital campaign’s motto is “leading lives of consequence” and hopes to raise $650 million to support the university and its strategic plan, according to The Columns.
