TrinTalk

On Friday, October 31, President Jones is scheduled to give an all-campus address, regarding the recent happenings in the economy, and what kinds of implications they have on our beloved Trin.  Scheduled to speak are Trinity College CFO Paul Mutone, and CAO Ronald Joyce.  The meeting is slated to start at 12 noon, and will be held in the Washington Room, on the second floor of Mather Hall.

In related news, this morning the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its figures regarding our country’s Gross Domestic Product.  In the third quarter, the BEA’s findings show a decrease of 0.3% in the GDP, attributing it mainly to “negative contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), and  residential fixed investment.”  The impact of negative contributions from residential fixed investments comes as no surprise, following the recent subprime mortgage crisis.

Unfortunately, this can’t mean anything good for Trinity, due to the school’s endowment being composed primarily of a multitude of investments that feel the impact of the downward-spiraling stock market. Stay tuned for more news regarding President Jones’s meeting tomorrow afternoon.

—-UPDATE—-

President Jones has sent out another campus-wide email detailing the fiscal state of the school at this point, quoting numerous figures.  Evidently, as of September 30, “the College’s endowment has lost 14.9% of its value for the present calendar year.”  This does not bode well for the endowment, since such a substantial decrease in value can only lead to more financial hardship.

President Jones has outlined a course of action for the coming months, including cutting all non-compensation discretionary budgets by 5%, as well as ceasing the hiring of new campus staff, withholding essential positions.  Additionally, Jones plans to freeze all non-critical campus projects, as well as restricting the hiring of outside contractors for said projects.  This is a risky decision, especially given the number of campus renovation projects currently underway, including the still unfinished Jarvis, and Seabury Halls.

Keep checking back for more updates on the College’s financial status.

The Hartford Courant reports that Trinity’s very own President Jones will join 10 other college presidents on a trip to Israel from June 29th until July 7th. The trip, sponsored by Project Interchange in Washington, D.C., will put the heads of Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and other schools in meetings with the 10 visitors from the United States. 

The nine-day trip will focus on educational and research collaboration efforts.

In Israel, the delegation will meet with representatives or presidents of Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben Gurion University of the Negev. The participants will also visit Al-Quds University to discuss issues of Palestinian education and governance.