Venture capital write-downs continued to weigh on U.S. college and university endowments in the latest fiscal year, tempering their ability to reap rewards from one of the strongest U.S. stock market showings of the last decade.

Harvard University’s endowment said Thursday it had gained 9.6% for the fiscal year ended June 30, citing an absence of gains in private markets. Stanford University's and Dartmouth College’s endowments both gained 8.4%, while Columbia University’s and the University of Pennsylvania’s returned 11.5% and 7.1%, respectively. READ MORE