The Harvard Crimson reports that, in a belt-tightening measure, faculty meetings at Harvard University will no longer include complimentary cookies.
“This is the first time in modern times with no cookies,” said Harry R. Lewis, a member of the faculty council. “We are sharing the pain with the undergraduates.”
Michael D. Smith, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, says cutting the cookies will save an estimated $500 per meeting. Tea and coffee, however, will continue to be served.
In other news, Harvard’s endowment is worth an estimated $26-billion.
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13 Responses to In Cost-Cutting Move, Harvard Faculty Forgoes Cookies
rlibrary - October 7, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Truly a belt-tightening measure. $500 worth of cookies packs a lot of calories!
saasaa - October 7, 2009 at 4:26 pm
$500 per meeting? Where were they getting their cookies? Imported daily from France?
reslifeguy - October 7, 2009 at 7:53 pm
It is Harvard. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did import the cookies from France or at least insist on name brand cookies.
neniaf - October 8, 2009 at 8:12 am
For that price, they’re importing the baker from France. We would be glad to help them find less-expensive cookies. But if their faculty have anything in common with ours, these are silly little things which make a huge difference in morale and mood at the meetings. I’ve had faculty from other units on campus come into our meetings to check on the quality of our cookies and then complain to their dean that they wanted cookies like ours! I wouldn’t spend $500 per meeting, certainly, but we’ve voted on priorities when some expressed concern about them, and the snacks remain.
klblk - October 8, 2009 at 8:56 am
Our Dean cut cookies and beverages from internal meetings, so I buy cookies and water for my academic area (I’m head) when we have meetings. It costs me about $8 for 15 people (but there are lots of leftover cookies). Plus I get “brownie points” from the troops.
davidknapp - October 8, 2009 at 9:09 am
Perhaps Harvard’s complementary cookies should not be complimentary.
dank48 - October 8, 2009 at 9:56 am
And this is from the widely acknowledged numero uno of American higher education. . . . It’s been noted in these pages how richly the Harvard Business School has contributed to the current economic situation, so it seems appropriate that the mother institution would show us the way out of the woods with this inspiring initiative. Can anyone with an IQ above room temperature still wonder why American institutionalized education enjoys the, ah, reputation it has with the rest of the country?
eeels - October 8, 2009 at 10:27 am
Is anyone planning a gender study of the faculty members who will inevitably step in to provide cookies themselves?
lzcohen - October 8, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I can’t believe it’s actually $500 per meeting — maybe they mean $500 for total meetings per day across the campus??
smiddletonhjr - October 8, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Let them eat cake….
11158138 - October 9, 2009 at 10:38 am
You call not eating cookies “sharing the pain with the undergraduates”? Just one more example of how Harvard needs a serious wake up call.
22154045 - October 9, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I think the “sharing the pain” comment was a joke :)
jesor - October 16, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Hmmm….a more amusing title might have been “budget woes cause Harvard faculty to toss cookies”