The University has hired Peter Stein, the Managing Director of the Princeton University Investment Company, as the new vice president and chief investment officer. He will replace Philip Halpern, who was appointed to the post in 1998 after serving as treasurer of the California Institute of Technology.

A search team of administrators for Halpern’s replacement including James Crown, chairman of the University Board of Trustees, and Donald Reaves, the Chief Financial Officer at the University, was formed after Halpern left on June 30, 2004.

Stein, who holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Brown University, served as managing director at Princeton for five years, and has been active in fund management for more than 20 years. At Princeton, Stein was responsible for more than half the university’s $10 billion endowment, which included investments in hedge funds, domestic equities, and fixed income.

Stein, who will begin his duties on July 11, will oversee the University’s $3.8 billion endowment and financial assets and the routine management of the investment office. The U of C has the 15th largest endowment in the nation, having returned gains of 16.6 percent during the fiscal year in 2004.