<p>In a letter released on December 16, Yale President Richard C. Levin promised that Yale would continue to honor its commitments to its current financial aid policies, despite the loss of an estimated 25% of its endowment's value.</p>
<p>Budget</a> Letter</p>
<p>Since the endowment produces 44% of Yale's $2.7 million annual operating budget, the decline in endowment value is expected to create a large hole in Yale's budget, estimated at $100 million this year and growing to $300 million by the 2013-14 budget year. (The full impact will not be felt until then because payout from the endowment is based on a 3-year moving average of endowment assets). Yale expects to be able to meet half to two-thirds of this years shortfall through combination of measures that includes controls on new faculty and staff hiring; caps on faculty and staff pay; a 5% reduction in non-faculty staff payrolls, to be achieved primarily through attrition; a 5% across-the-board cut in non-personnel expenditures; and deferral of building renovations and new construction projects.</p>