Princeton and finances, revisited

Back in February, I wrote about the steps Princeton was taking to weather the current economic storm. While the picture wasn't very rosy, it wasn't necessarily gloomy either. This morning, all employees received the letter below from President Tilghman.

The economic prospects for Princeton have become a bit gloomier than they were just over a month ago and as a result more drastic measures will have to be taken. I am pleased that staff members (presumably those in the "higher tax bracket") are willing to pass on salary increases so that those in the lower salary bracket can be given increases. I'm not so sure however, if it is still such a wise decision for the University to move ahead with the planned increase in the student body while at the same time cutting staff that will be on campus to provide services to the students. Yes, we must make tough choices in these difficult times, but we must also think holistically about these choices. I will certainly be paying close attention to the areas from which these cuts will come and the impact these will have on life at the University.

The complete text of President Tilghman's message:

From: Shirley M. Tilghman
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 9:57 AM
To: All Employees
Subject: Update on Princeton's Response to the Economic Downturn

April 6, 2009

Dear members of the Princeton University community,

I am writing to provide you with an update on the continued impact of the economic downturn on the University. Since I wrote to you in January, I have been greatly heartened by the thoughtful response of the community to the goal we set for ourselves: protecting those commitments that are most central to our mission. These include maintaining our historic leadership in financial aid for undergraduates and fellowship support for graduate students; preserving, and whenever possible, enhancing the quality of the faculty; and sustaining the quality of our dedicated staff. We have sought to preserve our human capital by achieving vacancy savings on both the academic and administrative sides and by identifying categories of spending where we could conserve or do without. Because of your willingness to make hard but strategic choices, we can say with confidence that we have been able to reduce our spending without compromising the quality of the education we provide or the research and scholarship we conduct. We also continue to benefit from a long tradition of prudent management of the University’s resources, which puts us in a relatively strong position to weather the economic storm. Finally, the loyalty and generosity of our alumni/ae, parents and friends remain a source of great strength. As I have traveled around the country over the last three months, I have been continually struck by the larger than expected turnouts at Princeton events, and the interest in and concern for the impact of the downturn on the University expressed by everyone I meet.

Unhappily, the news from the financial markets has not improved since January. Indeed the markets have continued to decline in value, and Andrew Golden, the President of the Princeton University Investment Company, has now advised us that we should be planning for a 30% decrease in the value of the endowment on June 30, 2009, the end of our fiscal year, rather than the 25% we have been using in our budget projections for next year. This is, of course, a “best guess,” but it is one that we must take seriously.

As we respond to this more pessimistic outlook for endowment earnings, we have been forced to revisit the FY2010 budget that was approved by the Board of Trustees in January to identify additional savings. That budget, you may recall, contained a very modest salary increase pool that directed the largest percentage increases to the University’s untenured faculty and lower-paid staff, and capped all increases at $2,000. In a variety of settings over the last few months, we have heard from both faculty and staff that they would be willing to forego their increases to minimize the number of lay-offs that might affect their co-workers. Given the new estimate of reduced endowment income, Provost Chris Eisgruber sought the advice of the members of both the Priorities Committee and the Committee on Appointments and Advancements (the Committee of Three) on a proposal to eliminate raises for tenured faculty and for staff with salaries exceeding $75,000, while continuing to provide increases for most untenured faculty and for staff with salaries under $75,000. These representatives of the community who participate in setting salaries each year encouraged us to take this step, which will result in savings of approximately $4 million next year, and the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees accepted this recommendation last weekend. I deeply regret that this action will add to the financial challenges that many of you face.

It is also essential that we begin to plan beyond the coming academic year. Over the last two months Provost Eisgruber and Executive Vice President Mark Burstein have described in a variety of campus meetings the impact of the market downturn on the financial status of the University, emphasizing that it will take multiple years to restore a decline of 25% in endowment value. With the prospect of a 30% decline in value by June 30, 2009, followed by the likelihood that next year will see no rebound in earnings, we must begin detailed planning for that multi-year budget reduction process now. Even with the substantial savings we anticipate in the 2009-10 academic year, we will be spending 6.7% of the endowment’s value next year, well outside our target range of 4-5.75%. If we are to preserve the spending power of the endowment for future generations, we must begin to bring our spending closer to the policy that governs how much of the endowment we may prudently spend each year.

For the coming academic year each department has already been asked to prepare for a 5% reduction in its non-personnel administrative budget and an 8% decrease in its income from restricted endowment accounts. These savings, when combined with actions taken centrally, will result in an overall reduction of $88 million in the FY2010 budget. This represents a reduction in the operating budget of 6.8%, based on this year’s $1.3 billion budget. We are now certain that a reduction of similar magnitude will be required in the 2010-11 academic year, which means another 8% cut in endowment spending on top of this year’s reduction. Even with this further belt-tightening, we will not be in compliance with our policy for at least another year after that.
In the near future department managers will be receiving from the Provost a two-year savings target to be achieved by FY2011, which will include the savings they have already planned for in the coming year. There is no question that this overall two-year target of $170 million in savings will be difficult to achieve, as the first round of cuts eliminated the majority of things that were relatively easy to forego. The steady growth in both faculty and staff that we have enjoyed over the last 10 years will end, and the University will have to contract in size. However, if we do this carefully and responsibly it is my conviction that the University will come through this difficult period stronger than ever. This is a time that calls for us to be as thoughtful as possible about what is most important to the success of Princeton, and to preserve those qualities aggressively.

The revised estimate for the endowment’s performance will also affect the 10-year capital plan. The slowdown in all new projects, which we put in place in January, remains in effect, and any decision to go forward with a renovation or new construction project will be made on a case-by-case basis, contingent on having 100% of the funding in hand. The stimulus package that was just passed by the Congress contains some funding for infrastructure, and Dean for Research Stew Smith is actively seeking to attract some of those resources to Princeton. In the meantime we will continue to move forward with designs and approvals for the highest priorities in the plan: the new home for the Lewis Center for the Arts, the Neuroscience Institute and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. It is our intention to be “shovel ready” at the moment when funding becomes available.

Let me conclude by thanking Provost Eisgruber, Executive Vice President Burstein, Dean of the Faculty David Dobkin, Vice President for Finance Carolyn Ainslie and Vice President for Human Resources Lianne Sullivan-Crowley, as well as the many members of their staffs, who have worked so tirelessly over the last several months to implement these painful but necessary budget cuts. And I thank all members of the Princeton community who have worked in partnership with them, without complaint and with both inventiveness and determination, to execute the plan. I am truly grateful that the sense of community we celebrate in good times is in such clear evidence when times get tough.

Sincerely,

Shirley M. Tilghman

Princeton and finances, revisited

ACRL Conference, day 3 - Thriving in Economic Downturn

Panel Session: Thriving in an economic downturn

All but 5 states are facing dire economic conditions.

In previous times of crisis, libraries have been collaborative and cooperative.

Steve Hiller – Eye to the future: data driven decision-making and planning in uncertain times

Measuring performance in an exercise in measuring hte pase. It is hte use of that data to plan an improved future that is all important - Peter Brophy

Strategic planning can help frame the future.

Get data from the users' perspective

organizational accountability

• What data do we need?
  
• what is the library's contribution to learning and reaearch
• what is the value of online resources
• user needs
• organizational performance metrics

Why we don't use data:

• don't have the right data
• don't understand the data
• aren't asked for the data
• don't know how to present the data
• difficulty using the data for positive change

Presenting Data:

• What is the message. fewer targeted messages have more impact
  
• Who is the audience
• How do we present: keep it simple
  

Budget reduction planning should look to the future. Look at documented faculty and student priorities.

gather user data to see what is most important for them

See Transformational Times [pdf file] from ARL, February 2009.

Camila Alire – Communicating through times of crisis

In Chinese, "crisis" characters include "danger" and "opportunity." There is always an opportunity our of a crisis.

In October 2008, 54% of staff (business/corporate) had received no communication from senior administrators about the economic situation at their companies, and 76% said they wanted to hear more.

Three important words:

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. You can't communicate enough.

One has to be very cognizant of the rumor mill.

Much of the communication is top-down. Often times university counsel or insurance companies or other sources telling administrators what they can and can't say. So even though administrators may want to be transparent, there can be some limits. Though limited, there still has to be some communication. Have regular meetings and other forms of communication (open forum). Integrity must prevail.

"Under-promise and over-deliver"

Set realistic goals and time-frames.

Avoid promises.

Tom Leonard – Collaborative decision arrangements available to us

Seven ways forward

• find collaborations that are sound and perhaps forgotten (go through old files; many in paper documents)
• look for short-term gains with partners. (ARL library leaders fellows program, eg.)
• think about skills that are hard to find in your organization. Can you "train-up" people in a consortium to work together? eg. project manager.
  
• look for barriers that may fall when leadership changes (eg Harvard's new leader gogt faculty on board with open access)
• choice of sustainable model or leaving money on the table, choose the former;
  
• sometimes we can fail in fruitful ways; what can we learn from failures?
  
• take full credit for previous investments that are now paying dividends (digitization as example)
  

Data

Communicate

Collaborate

With these three words, we can thrive in an economic downturn!

ACRL Conference, day 3 - Thriving in Economic Downturn

Update on Princeton budget woes

In an earlier post, I shared the letter from Princeton University president Shirley Tilghman in which she spoke about the university's response to the current economic conditions. In her letter, president Tilghman noted that provost Chris Eisgruber would send additional details on specific steps the university would take to achieve cost savings. Provost Eisgruber's memo [pdf file] has now been shared with the university community. You're welcome to read the entire message, but the highlights:

• all units will experience cuts in operations budgets starting in FY10 (July 2009);
• cuts may be 5% or 8% depending on whether the funds are general or restricted funds;
• a vacancy management policy has been implemented; all open positions will be reviewed by a university-wide committee before they can be filled; and
  
• the salary increase program for FY10 has been announced (see below).

A rather ingenius salary increase program has been developed that helps to protect the lowest paid employees at the university. For staff not covered by a bargaining unit, the following salary increase tiered structure will apply. Salary increases will be capped at $2,000.

TIER		BASE SALARY LEVEL	PERCENTAGE APPLIED
A		$0-$34,999	3.50%
B		$35,000-$69,999	1.60%
C		$70,000-$99,999	0.717%
D		$100,000 and above	0.00%
Example		If an employee is earning $75,000, the increase will be the sum of percentages applied to each tier of salary for a total of $ 1,820.80 as illustrated below.

PERCENTAGE APPLIED	BASE SALARY RANGE	AMOUNT OF INCREASE
3.5%	$34,999	$1,224.97
1.6%	$69,999-$35,000=$34,999	$559.98
.717%	$75,000-$70,000=$5,000	$35.85
	Total	$1,820.80

Although the university expects to experience some staff cuts, these cuts will not be nearly as severe as some of our peer institutions or as those about which we have been reading in the papers almost every day. After having increased the staff at the university by 1,000 over the past 8 years, we expect to cut about 33 positions in the next fiscal year.

Now for the bad news. As was reported earlier, the university anticipates a 25% decline in the value of its endowment this year. Even with several years of positive returns in the next few years, it will take somewhere between 5 and 10 years for the endowment to return to FY2008 levels. So, while the news is relatively good for FY10, there is no telling - at least now - what the years ahead will bring, but it probably won't be good for a while.

We have reason to be optimistic though because the folks at PRINCO (the university's investment strategists) have done a remarkable job at managing funds in the past and we expect they will do what is necessary to turn the university's financial situation around quickly. We can only hope....

Update on Princeton budget woes

Budget woes at Princeton

I reprint below, in its entirety, a letter university president Shirley M. Tilghman sent to the entire staff at the university today.

So we have finally admitted that even the mighty can fall, yet still have difficulty admitting just how far. It would be great if, in fact, our endowment had only lost 11%, but where other peer institutions have announced cuts much earlier and others such as Harvard and Penn have shared a more realistic (albeit harsh) outlook, we remain "confident." Don't get me wrong, I think confidence is a great trait to have and I am pleased that our administrators are confident in the outlook, but I also wonder how realistic this outlook is.

I couldn't help but compare President Tilghman's letter to that from Richard Levin, president at Yale University since both letters mention salary increases for employees. It seems Yale has a definition ($75,000) of what Princeton only considers the "highest compensated staff." I guess I don't know whether I want to be considered among this possibly elite group until the salary pool is [not] announced.

The mood here among my colleagues this morning is still good and many are thankful that there is still some optimism. They are also grateful that we are not, at least at the moment, letting anyone go. I suppose there is always something to be thankful for.

The letter...


From: Shirley M. Tilghman
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:06 AM
To: allemp@Princeton.EDU
Subject: Update on Princeton's Response to the Economic Downturn

January 8, 2009

To the Princeton campus community:

The New Year is traditionally a time for reviewing the past and anticipating the future. As we begin 2009, our thoughts cannot help but turn to the impact of the world’s turbulent economy. Many of you have asked me how Princeton has been affected and what lies ahead for our University. I want to take advantage of the pause between semesters to provide you with some information about Princeton’s economic condition and share with you my perspective on the months and years ahead. I have also had an opportunity to discuss these matters at length with the Trustees, who have been very supportive of the actions we are taking.

Let me begin by observing that despite the turmoil outside the FitzRandolph Gates, the University is flourishing. Professor Paul Krugman of the Department of Economics and the Woodrow Wilson School received the Nobel Prize in economics, and members of the classes of 2008 and 2009 earned three Rhodes and one Marshall Scholarship to study in the United Kingdom. These widely reported achievements were only the tip of the iceberg: faculty members and students throughout the University continue to perform brilliantly and garner national and international honors.

Moreover, our loyal alumni, parents and friends set a new record for Annual Giving last June and the Aspire campaign is making excellent progress, highlighted this year by the magnificent gift of Gerry Andlinger ’52 to launch the new Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. The Peter B. Lewis Library opened this fall, attracting rave reviews from both architecture critics and Princeton students, who have already made it one of the most popular study spaces on campus. A few blocks away, graceful and light-filled Sherrerd Hall has quickly become a campus landmark for the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering and the Center for Information Technology Policy. And this fall the women’s soccer team celebrated the inaugural year of the stunningly beautiful Roberts Stadium with an Ivy League title. I am truly grateful to be part of such a vibrant and healthy university, especially during such difficult times.

At the same time, Princeton is not immune from the effects of the turmoil gripping the world economy. In particular, our endowment, which has grown robustly in past years and now supplies more than 45% of the University’s operating revenue, has significantly lost value since the beginning of the current fiscal year last July 1. Through October 31, the University’s endowment had declined by 11%, based upon our standard reporting protocols, using information that is the best available as of the reporting date. However, given that values for non-marketable investments, which comprise more than half of the endowment portfolio, are reported only with lagged estimates until the end of each fiscal year, it is certain that 11% understates the actual economic loss the endowment suffered through October. And, of course, financial markets have continued to decline since then. Although we cannot know what the next six months will bring, we believe it is prudent for the University to plan for the possibility that its endowment will have declined by 25% at the end of the fiscal year.

Declines in endowment value do not automatically reduce the endowment’s contribution to next year’s operating budget. On the contrary, our policy is to increase that contribution by 5% each year, as long as the amount falls between 4.0% and 5.75% of the value of the endowment, as determined on June 30 of the prior fiscal year. When our rate falls below that range we make upward adjustments in spending and when it rises above that range, we must make downward adjustments. On five occasions in the past 11 years we have made special upward adjustments, and this year our spending rate is comfortably within the range at 4.76%. Looking ahead, however, a 25% decline in the value of the endowment would put our spending rate well above the upper limit of our range. To bring spending closer to the upper limit, we are planning to reduce the endowment’s contribution to the University’s general funds operating budget next year by $50 million. Even with this reduction, our spending rate would remain outside our target range, exceeding 6%, but we believe this spending level represents a measured response to the current economic climate. If circumstances change between now and June, we have the flexibility to modify this plan.

Fortunately, Princeton planned conservatively during the good years, knowing full well that markets go down as well as up. Though this year’s downturn is deeper than what anyone could have imagined, Princeton will be able to protect its key assets. Foremost among these is our human capital—the students, faculty and staff who are the vital heart of a great scholarly enterprise. One of Princeton’s signature commitments is our unsurpassed financial aid program, which led the way in 2001 as the first university program to replace student loans with grants. We are completely committed to meeting the full financial need of the students who will be admitted this year, as well as currently enrolled students, some of whose families have already been affected by the recession. In addition, we have approved some modest improvements to Princeton’s aid package this year, reducing the summer earnings requirement at a time when jobs will likely be hard to find. Happily, we have been able to fully meet an unanticipated increase of ~$5 million in demand for financial aid this year because of the extraordinary performance of the 2008 Annual Giving campaign.

It is also essential that we continue to recruit and retain the finest faculty in the world. In the past few years we have been enhancing our strength in high priority areas such as neuroscience, the creative and performing arts, African American studies and international relations, as well as sustaining excellence in disciplines where we are already preeminent. We should not put at risk the foundations we have so recently laid. Consequently, for this year the University will continue the searches for new faculty members that have already been authorized, with the goal of attracting to Princeton new colleagues who will sustain and enhance the quality of our research and teaching. However, any new requests to initiate or reopen a faculty search will be carefully reviewed by Dean of the Faculty David Dobkin, so that we can direct our limited resources to our most pressing needs.

In recognition of the important role that the University’s administration plays in our preeminence, we have been making strategic investments in our staff over the last several years to strengthen our effectiveness as a university. To reach our operating budget target for fiscal year 2010, we will need to slow this growth considerably. Beginning immediately, all new searches for term, temporary and regular employment must be approved in advance by a review committee composed of Provost Christopher Eisgruber, Executive Vice President Mark Burstein and Vice President for Human Resources Lianne Sullivan-Crowley. The committee will also review the status of searches currently under way to determine if any could be placed on hold. This scrutiny of new hiring will allow us to sustain our commitment to the dedicated staff currently working at Princeton.

If we are to devote Princeton’s resources to our core priorities and protect our human capital, all of us will have to work together to reduce expenses on other fronts. As you know, we have been reviewing the University’s 10-year capital plan, and earlier this semester we announced a series of project deferrals that reduced the cost of the plan by more than $300 million. While we continue to review opportunities for savings in the capital plan, we will complete the two major construction projects already under way; the exciting renewal of the Butler College dormitories and the new chemistry building on Washington Road. To ensure that we are poised to rebound rapidly when the economic climate improves, we will continue to design and seek public approvals for high priority projects such as the new home for the Lewis Center for the Arts, the new psychology and neuroscience buildings and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, but authorization to begin all construction and renovation projects will be made on a case-by-case basis, contingent on funding. The projects in the capital plan are critical to the future of the University, and we are hopeful that they will move forward as soon as economic conditions allow. Until that happens, however, we need to adjust our expectations appropriately, and I appreciate the support and good will that we have received from those whose projects have already been affected.

We must also look for ways to conduct all aspects of the University’s operations more efficiently. All non-personnel administrative budget allocations will be reduced by 5% in fiscal year 2010. Furthermore, departments with restricted endowed funds must plan for an 8% decrease in their annual allocations from these funds, and it is possible that further decreases will be needed in fiscal year 2011. While it may provide small comfort today, it is helpful to remind ourselves that even with this decrease in income, the payout from endowment units in fiscal year 2010 will be 50% higher than it was just four years ago. For this we have to thank the tremendous success of PRINCO, our investment company, whose skillful investing allowed us to significantly increase endowment spending in 2006 and 2007.

In order to help managers achieve the savings that these decreases require, I have asked Mark Burstein and Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Carolyn Ainslie to design a set of tools that will assist departments in reducing their budgets. These include everything from renegotiating procurement contracts to reducing the amount of printed materials. A website that describes the cost-savings initiatives can be found at http://www.princeton.edu/savings . I also ask anyone with good ideas to submit them to Mark Burstein via a suggestion box on that website. I am confident that we will be able to call upon the ingenuity and competitiveness of the entire Princeton community to help us identify and deliver ways in which we can reduce non-essential costs.

I have also asked Provost Eisgruber to collaborate with academic units to ensure that all the funds they manage are being directed to core priorities rather than more discretionary ones. Unfortunately, the economic constraints confronting us will require that we reduce the number of visiting faculty and fellows whom we might otherwise bring to campus to enrich our scholarly community, and Dean Dobkin will work with academic units to minimize such appointments next year. All of us in Nassau Hall recognize that needs and opportunities will vary from one department to the next, and we will work with chairs and managers to implement these budgetary initiatives in ways that are sensitive to the differences among units.

I am very grateful this year to the members of the Priorities Committee, chaired by Provost Eisgruber, who have worked so thoughtfully and flexibly for the last several months to craft a set of budgetary recommendations during a time when the economic landscape was changing day-by-day. That committee, which is charged with recommending an operating budget for the University each year, includes representatives of the faculty, staff and the undergraduate and graduate student bodies.

The committee will bring to the Board of Trustees for approval later this month three important recommendations. First, the members will propose that in light of the very modest funding that will be available for increases in faculty and staff salaries next year, the largest percentage increases should be directed to the University’s lowest paid employees. To accomplish this important goal, the maximum increases for tenured faculty and the highest compensated staff will be capped at $2,000. Second, in recognition of the need to sustain the quality of the Graduate School at Princeton, the Priorities Committee will recommend a 3% increase to graduate student stipends. Third, the committee will recommend a 2.9% increase in the undergraduate fee package for the 2009-10 year, the lowest percentage increase since 1966. This increase, which will not affect any student on financial aid, reflects the fact that many of our tuition-paying families are experiencing financial setbacks of their own.

The committee’s proposed budget also recognizes the University’s confidence in the goals of our five-year Aspire campaign. The campaign continues energetically in its second year, and we plan to adhere to the announced timeline for it. The initiatives embodied within the campaign are the University’s highest priorities, and I am thankful for the energy that Princeton’s volunteers, donors and friends have brought to the achievement of these goals. A campaign is a marathon, not a sprint, and I remain very optimistic about the prospects for success.

The extraordinary depth of the economic downturn, coupled with the uncertainty of predicting its duration or impact, make it likely that we are at the beginning of a multiyear budgetary adjustment. As this academic year progresses, my colleagues and I will continue to watch economic developments carefully so that Princeton can adjust its response as circumstances warrant. All of us hope that an economic recovery will come sooner rather than later, but it is likely that this year’s downturn will require creative planning for not only the upcoming budget year but later ones. The University will weather this storm and emerge from it even stronger than ever if all of us pull together and contribute our energy, understanding and good will. While all of us would prefer a different set of challenges and a sunnier economic forecast, I am cheered by the commitment and spirit that the entire Princeton community has already shown in these difficult times. I cannot imagine a better group of partners with whom to approach the tasks ahead, and I very much look forward to working with all of you in the New Year.

Sincerely,


Shirley M. Tilghman

Budget woes at Princeton