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BY JACQUELINE SMALL

In print | Published March 4, 2010

On Feb. 20, the Swarthmore College Board of Managers came forward to announce that it will contribute $1 million to the college each year over the course of the next three years to make up part of the $1.1 million in cuts that was left unidentified by the board in December.

“The initiative to raise the million dollars was started by Gene Lang [’38] to address the gap that we had not defined in our adjustment process,” President Rebecca Chopp said.

The decision came out of the board’s first meeting of the spring 2010 semester, during which they passed the college’s operating budget for the 2010-2011 school year. The budget has increased by 1.5 percent from slightly over $107 million to $108.6 million, including an 11 percent increase in financial aid.

In December, the board adopted a plan to adjust the budget, which included the goal of cutting $8 million for the next academic year. The Ad Hoc Financial Planning Group was able to identify places to cut all but the last $1.1 million and decided to wait another year or two to make these final cuts.

In an e-mail to the community, Chopp explained that the money is only a short-term solution. “Although the Board’s generosity does not eliminate the deeper, longer-term budget issues, their donations provide us the time we need to think strategically about resolving the issues in the context of the strategic direction-setting process that will begin in the fall,” Chopp said in her e-mail.

According to Sue Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer, the remaining tenth of a million dollars that remains unaccounted for will likely come from job attrition. No one will be laid off, but when positions become open, they may not be filled.

“After three years, we can only hope that the endowment will be in better shape and our operating budget will not have to be cut more,” said student council president Rachel Bell ’10 in an e-mail. She added that she was very pleased and grateful for the board’s contributions.

Samuel Hayes ’57, a member of the board and the former chairman of the investment committee, said, “It was a rather spontaneous decision on the part of the board. … Gene Lang offered to direct some of his charitable giving to the college … and said he would like to see the rest of the board of trustees step up to contribute the rest so they could better assess where the endowment would be in another year.”

Lang, a former chair of the board, will contribute $700,000 of his own money each year for the next three years. Giles Kemp ’72, who Chopp said was particularly concerned about the future of financial aid, has pledged to contribute $150,000 each year for the next three years, and several other members of the board have agreed to donate the rest of the money.

“I think this is extraordinarily generous on the parts of these board members, especially because we all already contribute yearly, and we are looking forward to a new capital campaign in the next year,” Hayes said. He has also donated to the fund.

Lang allocated another $100,000 per year over the next three years to constitute a fund that the president can use for faculty or students who were affected by the budget cuts.

For example, it may be used to pay for summer research opportunities for students.

Lang’s $700,000 donation will also help protect the college’s current financial aid policy of need-blind admission, the ability to meet all demonstrated need and the loan-free initiative. According to Welsh, all of these policies enable students from all socioeconomic backgrounds to attend Swarthmore.

“Part of Mr. Lang’s desire to contribute all this money was the possibility that if [the college] had to come up with this additional money, we might have to change the loan-free initiative, and he wanted to prevent that from happening. So at this point, barring any change in our financial situation, we don’t see that changing at least not for the next year, or several years,” Welsh said.

Welsh added, however, that the scholarships awarded by the college are growing at a rate that is equal to the demand, and that financial aid will be among several issues reviewed by the board over the next two years.

Hayes stressed the importance of financial aid’s evaluation in the future.

“It’s my personal opinion that our current need-blind policy is not sustainable in the future, given the likely trends in the future for financial aid from applicants … and we have to come to grips with the fact that the requests for financial aid will increase beyond what we can afford,” he said.

Welsh said that, no matter what happens, the college remains committed to maintaining its policies for students who are already enrolled and that any changes will be phased in for new students. “But I think we’re protected now for several years,” she added.

The new budget allows for salary increases between two and three percent for faculty.

“We made no raises last year so we’re very thankful to be able give them this year,” Chopp said of this decision.

Students will be expected to contribute more from summer earnings to their tuition.

First year students are supposed to pay $2000, up from $1450, and other students will see an increase from $1890 to $2500. Welsh said that these increases already occurred periodically, but that this was the first time in nine years.

She added that students still have the option to take out a federal loan or pay through other resources rather than through a summer job.

The academic departments’ stipends for summer opportunities will also increase.

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