George F. Keane, founder of Commonfund, has died at age 91.
Mr. Keane, who died May 21 in Trumbull, Conn., after a long illness, founded the institutional money manager in 1971.
Known then as Common Fund, the manager launched as a non-profit organization with seed money from the Ford Foundation after Mr. Keane began his career with 10 years as an officer of TIAA-CREF, and three years as a member of the higher education consulting group at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.
According to a notice of Mr. Keane's death on its website, he revolutionized the way colleges and universities invest their tuition and endowment funds.
Mr. Keane was CEO of The Common Fund until 1993 when he was named president emeritus and senior investment adviser. He retired in 1996.
Since his retirement, he served 12 years as a director of the United Negro College Fund and has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees by Loyola University and Lawrence University for his contributions to higher education.
A funeral Mass will take place on at 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 26 at St. Peter Church, 104 Main Street, Danbury, Conn. A celebration of life event will take place later this year. Mr. Keane is survived by two children of his late second wife Renee Bacal.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in George F. Keane's name to the American Cancer Society, or to The United Negro College Fund.
