Antiquitopia

A depressing article from the NYTimes : January 27, 2009 Data Show College Endowments Loss is Worst Drop Since ’70s By KATIE ZEZIMA The value of university endowments fell about 23 percent on average in the five months ended Nov. 30, according to two newly released reports. The steep declines are forcing colleges and universities across the country to contemplate wage freezes, layoffs and a halt to construction projects. The drop found by the reports is the biggest in the value of college and university endowments since the mid-1970s, said John S. Griswold Jr., executive director of the Commonfund Institute, which manages money for educational institutions and other nonprofits. “It’s been very sudden in some ways,” Mr. Griswold said. “There were people predicting the decline a year ago or more, but I don’t think anyone could claim to see the extent of this. These are unprecedented numbers.” The reports, prepared by the Commonfund Institute and the National Association of College and Un...

In the Chronicle , there was an article detailing some of the financial difficulties that many Catholic Universities are currently facing across the US. Most of the colleges and universities were founded by orders like the Jesuits or the Sisters of Notre Dame, etc. They relied upon these orders or the church for funding and oftentimes for the physical land and buildings as well! The faculty have traditionally been filled by priests, nuns, and monks who taught for free! Boards also drew upon such pools rather than people skilled in raising money (as at other institutions). But such unpaid faculty members are in shrinking supply. In fact, there have been increasingly fewer Catholics going into these religious orders since the 60s (correlating with Vatican II). Faculty positions, therefore, are being filled by lay people, who require payment and benefits comparable to their counterparts in other universities. And the boards are not very adept at raising money, meaning that their end...