Provost Eisgruber: We're F*cked

At the monthly CPUC (Council of the Princeton University Community) meeting last week, Provost Eisgruber presented on the university's financial health.

It was, not surprisingly, very depressing.

We've all heard about plummeting university endowments across the country in recent months. PRINCO (which manages Princeton's endowment) predicts our $16 billion endowment will fall 25% this fiscal year. That amounts to roughly $4 billion of Princeton's endowment.

But even more shocking was the Powerpoint slide that showed that, under realistic conditions, Princeton's endowment will not return to $16 billion until 2020, at the earliest (see chart above). By then, we will have children and a mortgage.

Eisgruber said it was time for us to get used to a new "normal" (in other words, being somewhat poorer). The university is facing an $82 million shortfall, and is in the midst of budget cuts. Eisgruber also said he is almost certain that Princeton will make a second round of budget cuts next year.

One piece of good news, however: Princeton will increase the financial aid budget by 13% next year.

Also at the meeting, President Tilghman promoted a new web page where anyone can suggest ideas for administrative budget cuts. So email away! Save your university!

(image source: dailyprincetonian.com)