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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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November 20, 2008
U. of Virginia Takes Heat for Its Investment Strategy
The University of Virginia is being criticized by local newspapers and financial bloggers for an endowment-investment strategy that relies heavily on private-equity funds and similar kinds of so-called alternative investments.
On paper, the university’s long-term investment pool dropped in value by nearly $1-billion, to $4.2-billion, from June 30 to October 31. And because it is committed to those kinds of investments, the university has said it may have to sell stocks at a loss to raise the cash it needs to fulfill its obligations to private-equity funds in which it has pledged to invest.
An article depicting the strategy as risky appears in this week’s issue of The Hook, an alternative newspaper in Charlottesville, Va., and includes commentary from Wall Street observers who criticize UVa and other institutions for having a “fetish” for the risky investments.
The article includes excerpts from an open letter from the university’s president, John T. Casteen III, issued last week to counter what he called “ill-informed stories in the press and in blogs” about the structure and status of the institution’s endowment. —Goldie Blumenstyk
Posted on Thursday November 20, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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President Chasteen got a 100% increase in salary in three years..I guess for his investment expertise
— Doug1978 Nov 20, 04:23 PM #
President Casteen is one of the longest-serving presidents in all of academe, and arguably one of the most able. You can debate whether he is worth the amount of the increase, but it’s hard to cast too much doubt on his value given the results over his time at UVa. As they say, it is one hellUVa place.
— HIED doc Nov 20, 05:33 PM #
Yes he got the job as a political appointment of a former governor and then hired that governor to be an expensive professor. He worked at UVa but never got tenure until the governor appointed him president.
— Doug1978 Nov 24, 04:17 PM #