Harvard's endowment takes $8 billion hit

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: MSNBC

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard University says its endowment has tumbled $8 billion in the four months since the end of the last fiscal year.

The estimated 22 percent decline is the school's sharpest endowment drop in modern history. The endowment was valued at $36.9 billion on June 30.

According to a letter to deans from university heads, Harvard must take a "hard look" at staffing levels and compensation. They're also forecasting a 30 percent drop for the fiscal year ending in June 2009.

The school has said its U.S. stock portfolio and foreign equity portfolio had taken hard hits recently. The school's endowment is the largest in higher education.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28031648/

---

Before you start all of the "Oh, boo-hoo for Harvard" crap, just remember that this is likely going on to some degree at almost every college and university.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Boo hoo, they only have 28 billion left!

My university could barely keep toilet paper in the bathrooms, had no faculty club, no indoor running track, no campus chapel, etc.

Things are tough all over.

[Ian David]

6. Your college had toilet paper? You lucky bastard! We could only DREAM of having toilet paper!

When we had to take a shit, we had to wipe our ass using the shit left behind by the last person to use the toilet.

[Hugin]

8. You had a pot to piss in? We could only DREAM of having a pot to piss in!

We had to hold it for 2 1/2 years (after it was cut from 4 years to save money).

[Skink]

11. Toilet paper had a way of disappearing at our school.

[rainy]

9. plus, they probably graduated the ones who got us into this mess

in the first place.

[Orrin_73]

13. You took the words right out of my mouth

Majority of the CEO's that ran those finance companies had MBA's from ivy league schools including harvard.

[Hugin]

2. Yes, it's probably happening at the PUBLIC Universities as well. n/t

[Uben]

3. Holy Crap, they need a bailout!

They are damned near broke!

[jobycom]

4. Maybe if they'd madesure W understood business before giving him an MBA

they wouldn't be in this mess.

Their reputation should have taken a harder hit than their endowment.

[chelsea0011]

5. Massachusetts has been trying to get Harvard and others to meet the non profit laws.

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=80d0b569c52dc6e3e7156a4763c067bf


Harvard and others don't meet the minimum charitable donation amounts to remain non-profit.

[Doremus]

7. Maybe their alumni can bail them out.

I'm not unsympathetic, really, mostly because of the reason you noted.

But it only stands to reason that they would take a hit because virtually every institution, government body and retirement account is a shadow of its former financial self.

It's getting dicey out there. :scared:

[DS1]

10. I hope Mr. Hal G. is the first out the door

[MUAD_DIB]

12. Harvard employs about 14k people.

A 30% cut will hurt the local community.

[MissMillie]

14. They can let me go

I figure w/ 29 weeks of severance, and then unemployment, I can manage to find something....