For the second straight year, private colleges are continuing to struggle with the profound financial impact of the global economic crisis. The national unemployment rate spiked and remained at well over 9.5 percent, and though personal investment portfolios that had experienced traumatic decline made strong recoveries, they remained far below previous highs. Our students and their families were challenged to secure the financial resources to pay tuition. The endowment fund made solid gains this past year and continued to outperform its benchmarks, but it remained far below its market value high point before the economic downturn. The impact on donors was significant as annual gift giving was substantially under plan for the year. Anticipating the challenges of the global economic crisis, the university responded with an aggressive financial plan to protect our critical revenue sources. Under President Beck’s leadership, we remained committed to the guiding principle that all financial actions taken ensured that the academic and artistic core was maintained if not enhanced. In other words, our top priority was the educational experiences of our students and the individualized attention they received from faculty in classrooms, laboratories, studios. We developed financial aid packages to respond to new- and returning-student and student-family financial hardships caused by the economic crisis. We also reduced the endowment distribution from the prior year by $2 million to protect endowment assets and ensure its financial health for the long run. University staff worked closely with donors to seek their support in helping Lawrence, but the impact of the economic crisis made this an uphill challenge — as indicated in the report by Cal Husmann, Vice President for Alumni, Development and Communications — annual giving support was also below target. The economic crisis had a direct impact on all university employees as salaries were frozen at last year’s level. Lower-compensated employees received their full retirement contributions but all other employees experienced a contribution cap. All employees worked hard to manage other expenses to a zero growth level. Continued unprecedented variable-debt interest rates and utility rates proved very beneficial to Lawrence. But our health insurance plan’s financial performance was substantially over plan. Lawrence ended the year in a financially balanced position, which is a remarkable achievement given the enormous financial difficulties it faced. Heartfelt thanks go out to our employees for their personal financial sacrifices and vigilant effort to help find ways to save money. Also, we remain humbled by the financial commitment of our students, their families and our donors, who have shown tremendous support during these difficult times. As you will read in this magazine, the college has made tremendous strides in its financial position, in academic innovations, enhancements to the physical plant and support for students and faculty. Lawrence’s momentum is directly related to the involvement of the entire community of alumni, parents, students, faculty and friends. |
