Returns on the College's endowment had dropped by 18 percent, or $700 million, as of Dec. 31, College officials disclosed today. The loss will require the College to implement staff layoffs, according to vice president of finance and administration Adam Keller.
Thursday's announced loss, which represents investment returns for the first and second fiscal quarters, is triple the loss the College reported for the first quarter.
Layoffs will be implemented soon after the College's budget plan is submitted to the Board of Trustees in time for the trustees' February meeting, Keller said.
Administrators hope that earlier efforts to reduce spending, including a hiring freeze and a retirement incentive plan, will decrease the number of layoffs needed. More than 70 staff members decided to take advantage of the College's retirement incentive, Keller said. Under the incentive plan, staff members over age 55 with 10 years of continuous service at the College were offered six months of pay following the last day of employment, if they chose to retire before Jan. 16.
Keller said he is optimistic about the future of the endowment, expecting relatively flat returns in the third and fourth quarters of the fiscal year.
