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Endowment losses force $82 million in budget cuts
Published: Thursday, March 5th, 2009
University administrators detailed a plan to cut $82 million from the operating budget beginning on the July 1 start of the new fiscal year at a finance-focused town hall meeting Wednesday afternoon.
The University has also pledged to increase its ...
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I do not mean to be heartless, but when the cost of everything (houses, gasoline etc) is declining, why is it that salaries on campus are slated to go up, however modestly? Many if not most of the donors to this extraordinary university have seen their compensation and net worth go down dramatically. The university should keep faith with them and their cirmcumstances. If given a choice between adding human capital or increasing the salaries of the existing personnel, I would opt for the former as it would strengthen this exceptional university and pay long term dividends to us all.
I'm also confused. Why not freeze salaries? My company has done that, and while we're still having layoffs it would be much worse if we didn't have the pay freeze. Also, my husband is a biology professor at another school, they froze salaries last summer. Finally, at the very least, don't discount merit in any calculations. If you are able to give some sort of increase, it makes sense perhaps to give disproportionate increases at the lower-salary levels. But if the "default" position is no increase, any increases would be seen as a big deal...Do Princeton HR staff consult with HR staff outside of Princeton? outside of higher ed?
I am glad, however, to see financial aid increasing. This is the time that more and more people will need it. The days of borrowing against your house to pay tuition are over.
This is a must read about the state of endowments and higher education. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/ha...
I'm not intimately informed on the U's logic, but I assume the push to not freeze salaries is part of the University's generally very decent treatment of its employees (esp. compared to other Universities.) Cost of living is going up, it makes sense that people would need salary increases in order to make ends meet. I'd like to point out that the University had already announced plans to increase grad stipends. Increasing the salaries of the lowest earning employees (and grad students) is a way of helping those who would have the hardest time paying for simple necessities like gas, utilities, and food make it through this crisis. In times like this its understandable that pay increases might not reflect "merit" -- professors and administrators are probably having a hard time too, but their position isn't likely to be as bad as that of other U. workers. Really, it fits rather nicely with the U's philosophy about finaid--the University does not give merit scholarships, but is doing everything it can to provide the new increased need for aid.
It's called solidarity. Maybe if the banks and other corporations understood a bit more about that and less about giving huge bonuses to the execs who "merited" them, we wouldn't be in this economic mess.
ooops.
It might not be a bad idea to cut staff...Princeton is the only university in the world with more professors than students!
The university is not freezing salaries but instead is increasing tuition for students!
see tuitionfreeprinceton.blogspot.com