Cornell Joins Ivy League Bond Boom With $1.1 Billion Debt Sale

Cornell University is poised to tap investors for more than $1 billion this month, the latest in a boomlet of elite universities selling debt to raise money for new projects on campus.

The school, based in Ithaca, New York, plans to borrow as much as $500 million of taxable bonds set to price April 4, followed by $610 million of tax-exempt bonds the following week, according to preliminary offering documents.

The tax-exempt portion of the sale will finance buildings, classroom facilities, maintenance and other infrastructure on the school’s main campus upstate, while also raising funds for student housing facilities at ...