Is Your School Managing Its Way Through the Fiscal Crisis With a Through-Cycle Mind-Set?

This article from Business Officer magazine could have been titled, "Effectively Coping With the Financial Crisis on Your Campus Requires Integrated Strategic Planning." The author posits "a through-cycle mind-set—managing through the cycle, anticipating a recovery, and making investments to position the institution to be very successful when the recession is eventually over." There are some useful observations about how specific institutions are not just slashing budgets but continuing to make strategic investments in some areas despite cutting in others:

• Arizona State University continues to make investments in key capital expansion and high-profile faculty;
• Despite laying off 400 employees and stopping $1B in capital projects, Stanford University continues with $2B of capital investment, including homes for faculty;
• Franklin & Marshal College is taking advantage of the employment market to increase its faculty by 20 percent; and
• CalTech decided not to do budget-"smoothing" things like salary freezes, instead opting for surgical cuts in staff and programs.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA