President Stephen C. Ainlay shared his thoughts on the economy and the potential impact on the College in an e-mail to the campus community.
Here is the complete text of his message:
Dear Members of the Union Community,
Reports of economic crises, both in the United States and abroad, have dominated the news as well as many of the conversations we have with one another. People worry about the tight credit markets, declining stock values, and the effects of all this on their personal lives and retirement portfolios.
Union College is by no means isolated from the effects of the economic downturn. All of us are personally affected and it would be irresponsible of us if we didn’t anticipate the potential effects on our institutional operations.
At the September meeting of the Board of Trustees Executive Committee, we agreed to undertake an analysis of potential stress points. Thus, our Finance and Administration staff has been carefully monitoring the effects of the current situation on College resources, such as the declining value of the endowment (and thus, importantly, endowment income). Our Admissions and Financial Aid staff has been considering the likely impact on enrollment and financial aid needs of families. Our College Relations staff has been considering the potential effects on fund raising for the Capital Campaign and the Annual Fund. We will be reporting on this stress testing to both the Board and to the Planning and Priorities Committee.
The good news is that Union’s resources have been well managed. Our endowment has performed better than most (e.g., while we too have realized losses, we have outperformed the S&P and composite index in 2008, year to date), we did not have any investments in the Common Fund (which has caused problems for other institutions), and our outstanding debt is primarily in fixed interest rate instruments.
As you consider your own personal situation, I would urge you to meet with advisors to review your investments. Eric Noll, our Director of Human Resources, has already sent information about the financial planning services that Union is providing to help employees manage their personal finances and I hope you will take advantage of this service.
At the institutional level, there is no doubt that we will face some financial challenges. We will have to make some difficult decisions to ensure our continued financial security. We will redouble our efforts to solicit the support of our friends, making clear our need for their support at this critical time.
Union remains strong. We have remarkably talented students, faculty, staff, administrators, and Board members who are dedicated to seeing Union thrive. We have a distinctive mission (better defined and articulated than ever before thanks to our strategic planning) that puts us in a good position in the educational marketplace. We will continue to move ahead and make a difference.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen C. Ainlay, President