US: Harvard looks to tighten its belt

Even the world's richest university is feeling the pinch from the economic downturn, reports the Boston Globe. Harvard's president, Drew Faust, said last week that the university was looking for ways to reduce spending across the campus, raising the spectre of cuts to programmes and compensation, as Harvard's endowment plummets. It was also assessing all aspects of its sweeping plan to expand across the Charles River in Allston, she said.


"We must recognise that Harvard is not invulnerable to the seismic financial shocks in the larger world," Faust wrote in an e-mail to faculty, staff, and students. She did not specify what cuts were on the table and declined to be interviewed.

A Harvard official familiar with its financial picture said the university is considering imposing a wage freeze for administrators and faculty, as well as a budget freeze on all programs. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard's largest faculty, is confronting a loss of roughly $4.5 billion in the market value of its endowment, which would translate to a net loss of $225 million from its budget, the official said on condition of anonymity because the plans are not final.
Full report on the Boston Globe site