Penn State's endowment decreased by $300 million between June 30 and Oct. 31, a university spokesman said today.
As of Oct. 31, the endowment stood at $1.3 billion, university spokesman Geoff Rushton said. In June, it stood at $1.6 billion.
The decrease is primarily because of the ongoing fiscal crisis, Rushton said, but added the university remains "on pretty solid footing."
"Certainly, $300 million is a lot of money; there's no other way to state it," Rushton said. "But in the grand scheme of things for us, it could have been worse, and we've certainly done better than the markets have."
The university does not use endowment funds for operating expenses, Rushton said, adding Penn State's conservative investment strategies have helped the university "weather the crisis" so far.
The university is attempting to "minimize the impact" of the financial crisis by possibly slowing some construction projects, Rushton said. In addition, university employees may not see raises "at the level they have been," he said, and some vacant positions may go unfilled. Departments at the university will also be asked to streamline their budgets, he said.
However, tuition is not likely to rise beyond proposed increases, Rushton said.
"You can expect that there will be an increase in tuition, that's reality, but the university isn't planning to make up for the difficult financial times by raising tuition any further than would be normal," he said.
Penn State is encouraging donors to contribute to the university's capital campaign, Rushton said.
"We've had tremendous support for the capital campaign already. We're trying to emphasize to the donors that their gift now could have as big an impact as it ever would -- now we need that more than ever," he said.
Last Friday at the Board of Trustees meeting, the university announced Penn State President Graham Spanier had recently committed $700,000 to Penn State, increasing his total philanthropic commitment to the university to $1 million. The funds will go towards endowments in the musical theatre program and university libraries, according to a university press release.
