Dartmouth College Projects $83 Million Loss for 2020 Fiscal Year

“announced freezes in staff hiring through the end of December and a suspension of wage and stipend increases for the 2021 fiscal year”

Posted by Mike LaChance Sunday, April 12, 2020 at 11:30am 3 Comments

More Sharing Options

Dartmouth has the resources to survive this. Smaller schools facing similar losses do not.

The Dartmouth reports:

College projects $83 million loss in revenue for fiscal year 2020

The College currently estimates an $83 million loss in revenue for fiscal year 2020 as a result of the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to chief financial officer Mike Wagner.

According to Wagner, of the $83 million in projected losses, $51 million is based on losses in operating income, including losses related to room and board fees, investment income shortfall, professional schools and unrestricted gifts. The other $32 million is based on anticipated losses in investments. Wagner added that while the College has a $19 million surplus for the 2020 fiscal year, most of that surplus has already been earmarked for future projects.

Wagner said that the College anticipates that the economic downturn will have the greatest impact on the College’s endowment, which contributes 27 percent of yearly revenues. He added that the College also anticipates decreases in donations and loss of revenue from auxiliary income sources like the Hanover Inn, which is owned by the College.

In an email sent to campus by provost Joseph Helble on April 3, the College announced freezes in staff hiring through the end of December and a suspension of wage and stipend increases for the 2021 fiscal year, which begins on July 1. Helble added, however, that the College still plans to continue hiring for positions of “essential need.”

“If an administrator or executive were to retire or leave for another job, we would need to fill those positions,” Helble said. “While there isn’t a list of exempted positions, we have a process whereby someone can demonstrate that a certain position is essential to the operations of their division or the institution as a whole.”