Jane Mendillo, head of Harvard University's $33 billion endowment, is leaving after a six-year tenure that started with the financial crisis and more recently saw investment performance that lagged behind some peers.

Mendillo will resign at the end of the year as president and chief executive of Harvard Management Co., which invests the school's money, Harvard announced Tuesday. A search is under way for Mendillo's successor as head of the world's largest university endowment.