BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Last week, National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and Commonfund released their report on the endowment performance of the 805 colleges and universities who responded to their survey. The outlook was fairly dismal and sheds light on the precarious foundation on which American higher education’s financial model is…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL One of the striking features of the new presidential administration appears to be the difference between fact and perception. On most levels, it seems that optics matter more than words.Facts seem to be afterthoughts to positions floated. Further, it looks like many positions shift regularly depending upon how the outcome is likely…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL On September 13, a House subcommittee holds a hearing that, according to Janet Lorin in Bloomberg , “is set to look at how colleges, through their tax exempt endowments, are trying to reduce tuition.” The subcommittee hearing features testimony from policy experts and college officials. It’s an interesting time to examine college endowments. As Ms.…
BY BRIAN C. MITCHELL Crain’s Chicago Weekly published a fascinating, head-scratching and troubling opinion piece recently by two professors from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Northeastern Illinois University critical of the “wealth hoarding” of large private research institutions. They note: “In the past few weeks, as faculty at Chicago State University reviewed their…