One day after Columbia University projected a likely budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, the Brown University Resources Committee reported that Brown is likely to face a significant budget deficit in fiscal year 2004.
In the report, the university recommended cutting back on many areas of Brown’s budget. The cuts will not be approved until the final budget is proposed in May. Meanwhile, Brown also proposed increases in the budget for — amongst other things — faculty salaries, information technology and graduate student support.
Brown executive vice president of finance and administration Elizabeth Huidekoper told the Brown Daily Herald that the budget deficit will be especially problematic for Brown’s Initiatives for Academic Enrichment, which include increases in faculty and financial aid. The report said there will be a $4.8 million disparity between available funds and the amount needed for the academic enrichment program.
Brown’s report recommended a tuition increase of 4.4 percent for next year, which is less significant than Yale’s 4.6 percent increase. But Brown’s tuition and fees will top Yale’s $37,000 at $37,942.
As many Ivy League universities succumb to pressures of the lagging economy, Yale administrators have yet to announce changes to the fiscal year 2004 budget.
Last fall, Stanford University announced a precautionary staff hiring freeze to avoid budget difficulties. In addition, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences recently announced that it will tighten hiring precautions in the face of a budget crunch.
–Jessamyn Blau