Johns Hopkins University's investments declined by 20 percent in the second half of 2008, Bloomberg reported. The university plans to cut administrators' salaries by 5 percent and implement a hiring freeze for all faculty and staff. The school, which faces a $100-million budget deficit for the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years, will also freeze salary increases and eliminate overtime, according to a letter to the Johns Hopkins campus from university President William Brody. The university already experienced a 9.8-percent drop in its endowment before June 30, according to Bloomberg. Johns Hopkins has not cancelled any major building projects, according to the article. The university has raised $3.74 billion for new construction over the past eight years, according to the article.
The University of Pennsylvania cancelled parties and Greek-affiliated events this weekend in response to a meningitis scare on campus, university spokesperson Phyllis Holtzman said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Three students were hospitalized and diagnosed with the disease last week, Holtzman said. The students shared a common social network within the university's Greek system, Holtzman said. The Penn health department has encouraged students to take a preventative dose of the antibiotic Cipro, even if they have already been vaccinated for the disease. More than 3,000 students have taken the antibiotic, Holtzman said. Health Services is targeting students who have attended fraternity or sorority parties since Feb. 2, Holtzman said.
The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding held an open house on Monday for the new international studies minor. The minor will include four required courses in the government, geography, and comparative literature departments, one advanced foreign language or literature course and one elective course. The courses are not yet listed as part of the international studies minor in the Organization, Regulations and Courses book. Students in the Class of 2010 and later are eligible to complete the minor, Amy Newcomb, the center's student programs officer, said. The minor will focus on issues of "environmental change, global health crises, global inequity, terrorism and violence," according to the department's informational pamphlet. "[The minor] fits for each student regardless of their major because it adds an international perspective to whatever they are studying," Newcomb said. About 100 people attended the event, Newcomb said.
