Approximately five colleges and non-profit organizations are considering suing their investment managers in light of recent financial losses, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Wednesday. Jacob Zamansky, an attorney currently involved in a lawsuit against failed investment bank Bear Stearns, told The Chronicle that endowment lawsuits claim that brokers mismanaged funds by suggesting investments that were inappropriate or too risky. The lawsuits may also include accusations of misinformation regarding the stability of suggested investments, Zamansky said. Other experts speculate that colleges and non-profit organizations could discover that investment managers overstepped their written mandates when investing their endowments, according to the article. Investment consultant Dick Anderson said he believed that large institutions, like colleges and universities, will be less likely to take legal action because most have several layers of investment oversight, The Chronicle reported. Problems are more likely to arise with smaller institutions and individuals who rely more heavily on outside sources to make investment decisions on their behalf, according to the article.
The California State University system announced plans on Monday to reduce enrollment by 10,000 students for the upcoming academic year, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The enrollment reduction is in response to recent state budget cuts to the university system, which already functions on $215 million less than operational costs, Chancellor Charles Reed told The Times. The cuts were part of a $4.5 billion package proposed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reduce the state's $11.2 billion budget deficit, The Times reported. The enrollment reduction coincides with a 20 percent increase in applications for the fall of 2009, according to Reed. In order to reduce enrollment, university officials will raise academic requirements at the most sought-after campuses and require students to submit applications by earlier deadlines, Reed told The Times. Admissions priority will be given to qualified transfer students from local community colleges and in-state applicants who apply to their regional campus, according to The Times.
The livelihood of hunters and fishermen in Greenland is threatened by global warming, Lene Holm, director of environment at the Inuit Circumpolar Council said in a Wednesday lecture in the Haldeman Center. Holm's presentation was part of an ongoing effort by Dartmouth's Institute for Arctic Studies to partner with countries and groups that are working to adapt to climate change, IAS director Ross Virginia said. Holm presented preliminary findings from interviews with Inuit hunters, fishermen and sheep farmers in Greenland who discussed the visible, negative effects of climate change on their land. Holm is a visiting fellow at the Dickey Center for International Understanding's Institute of Arctic Studies.
