December 6, 2009

Ivy League's Budget Cuts Minimize the Pain

Despite billions in losses, elite universities project confidence in their future

Ben Diep, Yale U.

A planned renovation of the Yale U. Art Gallery, put off in January, was back on track by September, fueled by $30-million in donations.

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Ben Diep, Yale U.

A planned renovation of the Yale U. Art Gallery, put off in January, was back on track by September, fueled by $30-million in donations.

By Robin Wilson

It was an unusual position for the history department at Harvard University to be in: It had invited some of the nation's most promising prospective graduate students to the campus with the goal of persuading them to enroll this fall. But this time the department couldn't afford to offer the candidates its usual star treatment.

Instead of housing them at a local hotel and taking them to eat at the Harvard Faculty Club, the department brought in box lunches and asked current students