Enduring a Troubled Economy
How You Can Help
President Richard Brodhead described the recent economic downturn as "a time of challenge, not retreat" for Duke. You can help meet this challenge. Share your ideas about how to eliminate unnecessary spending, reduce costs and improve efficiency.Duke University has grown over the past several decades to become one of the nation's most financially secure universities, thanks to the generosity of its supporters, the research excellence of its faculty, the strength of its health care system, the outstanding performance of its investment team and many other factors.
Like every other institution of higher education, nonprofit organization and indeed the nation as a whole, however, Duke faces financial challenges and constraints in the face of a global recession. The most notable and noticeable impact comes from the precipitous decline in global markets, which has led to a decrease in the value of Duke’s portfolio. Distributions from these investments make up about 16 percent of the University’s operating budget. As a result, distributions from the endowment and short-term capital investments are projected to yield less in revenues than previously expected to support Duke’s operations during the next few years.
Duke officials expect a budget shortfall of about $125 million. While not insignificant, this gap is considerably smaller than at some other leading universities that depend more heavily on endowment returns to fund their operations. Nonetheless, it will require the entire Duke community to work together to sustain and advance the University’s vitality during this period of historic transformation in the global economy.
Duke seeks your help in this process and has established this website as a central location to keep you informed about what’s happening. You’ll find messages from University leaders, details about Duke’s efforts to manage expenses and information about how the situation is affecting higher education generally. You also can join the conversation by offering your own suggestions about how Duke might improve efficiency and cut costs.