Amusing...

So now higher education is taking a "gut punch" in the economic crisis.

Of course... check out your local school board... it is worse than you think.

Forget Harvard... they'll be "fine"... the more important issue is schools that can NOT afford 22% losses to their budget... nevermind an endowment...

Its not like Harvard produced any of the financial genuises that got us into this mess or anything.  Harvard should look at it as a return on its investment.

Ichigo is right on with his observation - our local public schools in Illinois have no endowments (unless you consider the umbilical cord running directly between property owners and the schools as an "endowment"), and all of the property tax payers are in for a very rude awakening.  With sales tax revenues in the toilet (consumers aren't buying, and big ticket items like cars are seeing a 47% drop in sales), and income tax revenue decreasing (you need to have a job in order for the government to fleece you on wages), the last bastion of as not yet totally picked over taxpayer pockets is the property tax and on that one we are all going to get royally nailed with threads around it.

Although education is to be funded by the state according to the state constitution, Springfield regularly ignores that mandate and Illinois schools have been built, literally, on the backs of property tax payers and in the process the state has created and perpetuates an economic based version of the "separate but equal" educational institutions banned by U.S. Supreme Court edict in the 1950's.

The broad scope of the down turn touches all by means of mutual funds. Those funds were meant to protect but are having the opposite affect. Maybe Harvard is over rated and another college with better ideas needs to appear. No one or thing stays on top indefinitely.

Oh damn!  Now they only have $36 billion sitting around.  Colleges should be required to use a large % of their endowment.  It's not right that they're allowed to horde billions of dollars when every year the cost of college goes up at a rate double inflation.  www.generationyinvestor.com

Oh damn!  Now they only have $36 billion sitting around.  Colleges should be required to use a large % of their endowment.  It's not right that they're allowed to horde billions of dollars when every year the cost of college goes up at a rate double inflation.  www.generationyinvestor.com

Higher education is paying the price for over leveraging. Harvard for years invested in hedge funds and other "alternative investments" and other colleges and universities followed. Harvard is not the only school reporting losses, When all is said and done 30 -40 % losses will be seen at some colleges and universities. The truth is (as is confessed in the article) they do not know the true extent of the losses and donors who are not on the Boards of Trustees will not know for a long time. Resignations from these Boards would be appropriate and an open transparent reporting of all  the facts will hasten that needed response. I would also like to know if there are any tyng relationships between Board members and the managers of these funds!!

HARVARD IS PRIVATE AND SHOULD SPEND OR NOT SPEND WHATEVER IT LIKES OF ITS LARGESSE. DO NOT PENALIZE ANYONE FOR THEIR SUCCESS.

and the mindless selling caused by them abandoning their hedge positions is destroying the value of the investments of others,probably at a time when the market is turning back up. Great example for their finance students, sell at the bottom.

The 36 Billion dollars Harvard Endowment is not a nestegg for bad times.

To invest the Endowment in stocks basically violates the reason for its existence, which is solely for investment in the educational functions of the university.

Now Harvard has squandered 10 billion dollars gambling that was not given to them for the purpose of making profits in the stock market.

Endowments should be required to remain uninvested cash funds until spent on education for which they were given the tax free status to begin with.

My responsibility as Chairman of the Global Endowment is to hold all funds in cash until they are spent on globalizing education and fine arts, and granted in support of exceptional individuals who deemed to be social models of personal growth and human achievement for others to emulate.

Gene Thompson, Chairman

The Global Endowment    

www.gtvnn.net

Nice, $36.9 billon dollars given to them over the years for free and they are going to take a "hard look" at staff and salaries. Looks like they'll target the janitors and clerks first. They make about $36,000.00 per year and are at the bottem of the ladder. They'll be first to get slashed by these money hungry snobs.