January 30, 2008
Pressure on Universities to Use Financial Reserves
As members of Congress question how Harvard, Yale, and other wealthy universities are using their assets, Mike Burns, a nonprofit consultant, has a suggestion for how they can spend their billions of dollars in reserves.
On his blog, Nonprofit Board Crisis, Mr. Burns suggests Ivy League universities provide zero-interest loans to support historically black colleges and other schools that primarily serve minorities. “After all, the Ivy Leagues weren’t really that available to give equal opportunities to the black and Latino communities over the years,” he writes.
Yet not everyone agrees that lawmakers should be scrutinizing the higher-education institutions.
“Even if Harvard or Princeton are public fixtures, they remain private institutions, and, for better or worse, under our legal system they can charge whatever the market will bear,” writes Nathaniel Peters on a blog by First Things, a magazine published by the Institute on Religion and Public Life. Mr. Peters is a junior fellow at the publication.
What do you think? Should universities be pushed to spend more of their financial reserves? If so, what should they use the money for? Click on the comments link below and share your thoughts.
— Ian Wilhelm
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The Ivy League schools and other nonprofits with substantial endowments must feel like the little red hen. They put forth the effort to grow their endowments. Yet others feel entitled to share in their success or at least entitled to tell them how to spend their money. Like the little red hen, only the Ivy League schools should decide who eats the bread. Nobody wins if an endowment dwindles to nothing. It is there to provide on an ongoing basis.
Rather than demanding a hand out, these other institutions might learn from the Ivy League. Rather than looking for an entitlement, put forth the effort to create and build an endowment. Then manage the nest egg wisely.
— Frank K. Simon, Jr. Jan 31, 11:25 AM #