Brandeis budget crunch

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brandeis University
1

<p>My D was admitted, and at first we were delighted. She, and we, her parents, think very highly of the school. But the budget crunch (25% drop in endowment; projected deficits ranging from $4 million in fiscal 2009 to $23 million in fiscal 2014; a 5.7% cut in staff amounting to 70 positions; long term neglect of maintenance; a steep increase in admitted students amounting to fifty more for the just-admitted class; faculty reductions; and crowding in the dorms with tripled-up doubles) has us worried, especially since we will have to pay the full ticket price. Great school, but problems. But maybe not problems that would seriously impair the D’s Brandeis experience.</p>

<p>Any thoughts out there? Current Brandeis students? Parents?
Tumblebunny’s Dad</p>

2

<p>It’s a problem but one shared by virtually every school out there. Harvard, which obviously has a much larger endowment, has instituted a hiring freeze, has accepted fewer graduate students with funding and and has frozen much of its expansion plans into Allston. Every university that I know of has taken similar actions. Actually, a 25% decrease in endowment is better than what a lot of other institutions have experienced.</p>

<p>Brandeis’ problems are not unusual but are exacerbated by the fact that it is a young institution in Massachusetts, which has a law which prohibits using income from an endowment when the current value of the gift is less than its original value. Because a significant portion of Brandeis’ endowment is relatively recent in origin, the law affects Brandeis disproportionately compared to Harvard or MIT. Brandeis also depended more on current philanthropy to balance its budget each year than other institutions, and many of those donors are not in a position to help like they ordinarily would. </p>

<p>But the Administration is acutely aware of these issues and is being proactive to address them. That’s why, for example, they wanted the flexibility to sell some art from the Rose Museum if necessary to prevent draconian cuts in the academic arena. But rather than portraying these measures as prudent precautions, the media choose to to portray them either as panic mode or anti-art. They were neither. </p>

<p>Brandeis (and the rest of us) will survive these difficult times. One could argue that Brandeis is simply being more honest and transparent about the financial issues than many other school. I wouldn’t base a choice of undergraduate schools open this openness.</p>

3

<p>tumblebunny, Brandeis is a great school and exciting place to be–truly a special combination of small liberal arts school and world-class research university. The reports of its budget issues lack context and have been overblown due to the administration’s initial inartful handling of its proposal potentially to sell a few paintings from its world-renowned Rose Art Museum–which has caused international attention to be focused on this issue.</p>

<p>Brandeis is hardly alone in this economy. According to news reports, many universities, even the wealthiest, like Harvard, are making serious budget cuts in response to severely diminished endowments and donations. Contrary to some rumors, Brandeis did not have any of its endowment invested with Madoff, unlike Tufts that lost $20 million and Yeshiva that lost over $100 million with him–although a major Brandeis supporter did lose funds. Brandeis has pledged to maintain financial aid and maintain, or improve, its world-class education by resisting the type of budget cuts that could undermine its core mission. The art-sale proposal is just one way it is considering to fund that pledge. The key here is that Brandeis is prioritizing students over things. </p>

<p>The student body currently is very small for an institution of its caliber (less than 800 per class) so I believe that 50 additional students if handled properly won’t be a problem. And the school is being very thoughtful about this issue and addressing it in part by introducing an optional experiential/intensive study semester called The Justice Brandeis Semester that will serve both to offer an exciting alternative to classroom learning amd to reduce campus overcrowding–similar to the Dartmouth D-Plan. They’re also launching an innovative Business major, and, I believe, a Communications/Media major to increase educational options. I would not let the economy deter your daughter from experiencing Brandeis or any of the other top-tier schools that are faced with budget issues. These issues are cyclical and excellent schools have found ways of dealing with them in the past. I’m confident Brandeis and its peers will deal with them successfully once again.</p>

4

<p>tumblebunny, Brandeis isn’t going anywhere. The endowment is still a robust 575 million. they are breaking ground on a new humanities complex and completing a new admissions center to add to the to the new residence hall and $154 million science complex. The reason why Brandeis’ financial troubles are so public is because of the decision to close the Rose, which garnered a lot of attention, to say the least. Except for the small minority of individuals more loyal to very modern art than to Brandeis, a lot of students and staff support the decision to better integrate the Rose with the Brandeis campus. (I use the word integrate because it’s clear the vast majority of pieces will not be sold and the space will still support the fine arts in some way.) May I ask what your D is considering majoring in? I don’t think any whole academic department will be cut but if it’s a very popular and large program than your really shouldn’t have any reason to worry at all. Come to admitted students day next week. I don’t want to sound corny, but I guarantee you will see what makes Brandeis special.</p>

5

<p>I can understand the OP’s concerns, given the prior media coverage of Brandeis’ financial challenges, particularly the dissension over the fate of the Rose museum. However, the more I read up on Brandeis, I’m hopeful that the administration can constructively work through this setback. As a parent of HS junior who’s planning to apply to Brandeis this fall, this thread has been reassuring. </p>

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<p>Agreed.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Bonanza, for the detailed and thoughtful reply. Can I ask, are you a Brandeis student or parent? You don’t say, and I’d be very interested to know.</p>

<p>As to all schools being in the same fix, I’ve been talking to several of the schools my D. has been admitted to, and I don’t think that’s entirely so. The notable example is Bates: no staff layoffs, no hiring freeze, no reduction or halt of faculty hires, no planned increase in admits and no tripled-up doubles. </p>

<p>Again, the travails of Brandeis don’t necessarily add up to a don’t-go, but it remains in my mind for the time being an open question. She’s going to admitted students day, so let’s see what she says!</p>

<p>Tumblebunny’s Dad</p>

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<p>People don’t gift paintings to museums in order for the gift to be disposed of to raise money. Deaccessioning is thought to be unethical. It violates a stated or unstated agreement between the donnee and the donor. The National Academy recently ran into extremely heavy weather on this very issue. That’s why the Rose affair raised such a storm. One has to wonder what the trustees were thinking of, and then who was advising them. It’s not exactly a secret that deaccessioning is a great big no-no. Beyond that, so drastic a proposal suggests an institution in dire straits. Whole thing really shook my confidence in Brandeis. </p>

<p>Several response to my post are by people who don’t identify who they are and what is their interest. Hmmm.</p>

<p>Tumblebunny’s Dad</p>

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<p>i didn’t identify myself, but i’m a senior at Brandeis. my views do not represent the official line of the university whatsoever.</p>

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<p>My impression is that Brandeis wants the ability to liquidate a few paintings as one option in avoiding the type of budget cuts that could negatively affect its core mission, not because of a “crisis” or “dire straits.” I’m guessing the administration was advised to close the museum to the public (effectively re-purposing it solely for student and faculty use) in order to avoid those very deaccessioning guidelines imposed on public museums. Since the museum traditionally did not get a lot of foot traffic (most of its collection is in storage at any given time), they didn’t forsee the uproar that would arise in the art world. Now, as you may have heard, the administration has backtracked and is awaiting the recommendation of a faculty/student/staff committee on the future role of the museum–e.g. public museum/teaching facility or private teaching facility/museum).</p>

<p>BTW, I’m a Brandeis alum who follows the school closely. I’m glad to hear that Bates currently has its budget balanced, but , in my admittedly biased opinion, Brandeis is the far better choice.</p>

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<p>Sulsk and B77:</p>

<p>I don’t want to get sidetracked into a lengthy discussion of the Rose imbroglio. B77’s take is reasonable enough and probably accurate, up to a point. Campus museums in general get little traffic and have a lot of work in storage: both are givens and no reason to shut down, as was originally announced. Plans for the Rose are not part of an orderly process pre-dating the crunch; they are a direct response to the crunch. For a variety of reasons, the appearance is one of an institution in trouble and ready to take drastic steps.</p>

<p>My D plans to major in biology and, bless her, climb on the pre-med treadmill. I doubt that this path will be directly involved in the cuts. We’ve been to Brandeis twice. The first time my D sat in on a class, and the second time she stayed overnight and hung with Brandeis students. We know that Brandeis is special, believe me. We also know, protestations to the contrary, that the university is wounded, though the severity of the wound remains unclear. That’s why I’m asking and will continue to ask very tough questions.</p>

<p>Bates and Brandeis are (New England) apples and (Florida?) oranges. Both are outstanding for different reasons. All depends what you want, no? Rather, in this case it depends on what tumblebunny wants (she’s varsity gymnastics; hence the name).</p>

<p>Tumblebunny’s Dad</p>

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<p>Dad, your concerns are fair. Continue to ask tough questions. No one is suggesting that Brandeis is not having budget issues. Just that it is not alone among major universities, and that its efforts to remediate them are reasonable and designed to serve the best interests of students and the future of this special institution. Please decide for yourself. Best of luck to you and your talented daughter.</p>

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<p>OP: My previous post in this thread was a response to bonanza, B77 and sulsk. As I already mentioned, I’m the parent of a prospective applicant (in case the “ringer” comment was directed toward me) and in no position to reassure or convince you that your daughter should, or should not, attend Brandeis. If anything, I’m grappling with similar concerns, myself, in regards to my own daughter’s interest in Brandeis.</p>

<p>As you, yourself, suggested, the best course of action will be to attend the accepted students program, talk to the staff and current students and, perhaps, other accepted students and their families, and then see how you and your daughter feel about the school.</p>

<p>I do want to clarify my last comment, regarding the Rose museum, in my previous post. What I respectfully disagreed with, in the media coverage, was the suggestion by some that the selling of the art, or altering the status of the museum, was a violation of the school’s basic “mission”(i.e., “anti-art”). IMHO, the university’s primary “mission” is educating students and maintaining strong academic programs, as opposed to running an art museum. It’s a philosophical point and reasonable people can disagree on it. That having been said, I actually don’t think the sale of the artwork is a good idea because the decision appeared rushed and didn’t take into consideration the many possible legal (including tax) ramifications, especially for the art donors. So, to that extent, I do happen agree with your concerns about what kind of advice the trustees were and are receiving.</p>

<p>I share your concern regarding the upcoming increase in admittances, and the possibility of overcrowding, as a result. And I’ll be following reports from Brandeis, in both of their student publications (which certainly are not shy about challenging the school administration) and on CC, as well. You are the second poster I noticed that has raised the maintenance issue. I visited the campus last October and, to be honest, the campus and the buildings that I entered seemed to be well maintained and in good repair. However, we plan to return to campus this coming fall, and I plan to look around with a somewhat more critical eye. On the other hand, I really appreciate the strong academic tradition and I feel that the intellectual and social culture there could potentially be a wonderful fit for my daughter.</p>

<p>I wish you and your daughter the best. Between Bates and Brandeis it looks like she has at least a couple of great choices. I hope that the upcoming visit helps to clarify her decision. One year from now, I’ll be in your shoes and I hope that my own daughter has similarly good choices.</p>

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<p>I have a s who is a freshman at Brandeis, majoring in physics and math. He is very happy, but has noticed several changes during this economic firestorm. Professors dont seem as happy to be there as they were, food offerings are not as ample as previously, and there is worry amongst the students about which majors may be cut. S was worried they might cut his program, but we have been assured they aren’t touching the sciences. Although forced to buy a complete meal program, I am sending food to him!! If he was a senior now, and I was making this decision now I would not send him to Brandeis. But that said, he is getting a great education, has made lots of friends, and is adjusting well.</p>

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<p>i’m sorry littlemimie, but I must interject here. why on Earth are you sending food to your s? i’ve been here for 4 years and I never had any issues being fed! the dining halls simply are as stocked as they always have been, and even if your s wants to be safe he should buy some food from the large P.O.D. store to use his meal plan rather than have food sent to him. if he’s homesick for your cooking that’s one thing, but i doubt he’d go hungry otherwise.</p>

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<p>I would suggest that in in times of change (both stressful change like possible budget cuts and good change, as here, resulting in additional majors and programs), everyone, both students and faculty, may have concerns that cuts will affect them or new offerings will not pan out. This may be reflected in both littlemimie’s son’s perceptions and even the perceptions of some of his Professors. I’m glad to hear from sulsk that the food is still plentiful at Brandeis. And I believe that the academic future will be equally bountiful. Again, I don’t believe Brandeis’ economic reality is different from many other excellent schools in this economy that have simply been more discreet in addressing their budget issues. My confidence is bolstered by the fact that Brandeis has shown throughout its existence that it is resourceful. You can already see the results of the school’s renewed commitment to students in the $10.8 million grant for academic scholarships recently announced. Although not an all-purpose fund, it amplifies total financial aid resources and underscores the continued attractiveness of the University to philanthropies who wish to invest in educational excellence. As more of these announcement come out of the fundraising pipeline, hopefully they will serve to alleviate this type of understandable anxiety.</p>

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<p>Having initiated this thread, I’d like to end my participation in it with some closing, and encouraging, remarks. I was able to speak with a professor at Brandeis, and while I can’t divulge specifics I can say that the conversation was candid and enlightening. I’m convinced at least for the time being that the university is weathering the downturn better than some schools and is essentially okay, as long as the economy doesn’t get worse and force further cuts. </p>

<p>Tumblebunny’s Dad</p>

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<p>I am the father of a recent graduate and have read various materials about Brandeis and the current economy, in general and specific to the school.
As with many colleges, the economies are causing issues. However, this is nothing new. Issues about curriculum, faculty, retention or expansion of majors, and the rest occurred all through my son’s four years at Brandeis (and, if my fading memory serves while I was at college too). There were major issues about total restructuring of the music majors, for example, which produced months of heated discussions djuring s recent academic year. Likewise for NEJS (Near Eastern/Jewish Studies).</p>

<p>So I wouldn’t worry. The Brandeis administration has for several years been on a track to have Brandeis recognized as a national small research university, on a par with such as Johns Hopkins and Carnegie-Mellon, while still maintaining its high standard in liberal arts, and that effort isn’t likley to change.</p>