Weathering the Storm

Release date: July 23, 2009 |

Weathering the Storm

An Interview with Sanford J. Ungar

Interview by Holly Selby

As reports of corporate bailouts and shrinking investments fill the news, it’s natural to wonder what these uncertain times may mean for Goucher College. Here, President Sanford J. Ungar speaks with the Quarterly about the recession, what effect it might have on Goucher and other institutions of higher learning, and how the college is working to minimize its impact on students.

There has been a slowly escalating, low level of panic. One of the things that is different about this [recession] from other situations is the number of students who have told me personally that one of their parents has lost a job. This is not unprecedented, but it has been unusual in its growing frequency.

I frankly thus far have been relieved that the number hasn’t been greater. Nonetheless, there are students who have said to me, for example, My grandmother came up with an extra few thousand dollars to help me this spring, so I am OK for now, but I’m worried about the fall. These are the kinds of details that we hear. My feeling is that we must have a cushion in the financial aid budget, so that we can deal with some of these needs. We hate to lose any student, but the saddest thing of all would be to lose students because they cannot afford to stay here. What steps has the college taken to help students deal with the recession?

As I said, we have an extra cushion in the financial aid budget, and it may need to grow. We are trying to encourage families to recognize any financial issues they may have and alert us to them sooner rather than later. I think that in some families, there is a kind of denial, or maybe embarrassment, about what is happening; but the sooner we know, the more likely we are to be able to help.

Goucher announced last spring that the total cost of a Goucher College education in fiscal year 2009-10 would be $43,791, an overall increase of $1,418 (or 3.3 percent) over last year’s cost. Why was this necessary?

We began by asking, What do we have to do to maintain the quality of the academic program? We realized that the only way we could hold faculty and staff salaries flat (without cutting them), try to avoid layoffs, and maintain the quality of our academic program was with a small tuition increase. In the end, we felt that we were doing the right thing and that everyone was contributing: Faculty and staff are forgoing raises this year, there is a hiring freeze except for a few essential positions, memberships in various professional organizations have been cancelled, travel is being cut back, and we are asking families to pay a little bit more. And  financial aid is being increased.

Every college and university has seen its endowment shrink this year. In September 2007, our endowment was nearly $212 million. What is its status now?

We are down significantly. Part of what is sad is that it is going to take us a while to recover. [Vice President for Finance] Tom Phizacklea has a compelling and frightening chart demonstrating this. The rosiest scenario is that we’ll gain back what we’ve lost by 2013. So the next three budgets in fiscal years ’10, ’11, and ’12 are going to be very, very tough.

Despite what I just have said, Goucher College is in solid financial condition. We have a balanced budget. We aren’t doing anything drastic or dramatic. We had to find about $1.4 million in a combination of cuts and savings in the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. I think sometimes you don’t realize you are in the boom years until they are over.

You mention holding down costs. Are there specifi c steps that the college is taking?

We are trying to become more frugal in a number of areas, from not filling some vacant positions to cutting back on travel costs. We are experimenting with a summer session, and we have instituted a per-credit fee for students taking more than a certain recommended academic load. We are asking faculty members to think about whether they need to make a trip, if they can attend a local conference instead of a national one unless they are presenting research. And we charged a small fee for Reunion registration this year something we felt we needed to do to defray costs. Some of these are temporary steps, and some are prudent long-term adjustments. One thing that could happen is that as we leave some positions vacant, there may be more part-time jobs for student workers that would both help fill in the gaps created by vacancies and offer greater on-campus employment opportunities to students.

Goucher has a number of large construction projects under way or on the drawing board. Does the recession mean any changes in these plans, particularly completion of what will become the college’s flagship building, the Athenaeum?

The Athenaeum is on track for completion this summer, and its opening is scheduled for September. The recession will push back the renovation of the Julia Rogers Library for classrooms and faculty offi ces. But we are in a position to complete the other major projects that we’ve been working on, for which we have already identified funding, and to go ahead with the faculty hires that we had already planned. I would guess that next year will be a harder year.

You mentioned making some hires that already had been planned. What are some of the faculty and administrative positions that Goucher has been able to fill?

Among others, we have hired two new members of the Political Science Department, an environmental economist, a microbiologist, a psychologist, and a historian. These hires fill vacant positions or accomplish conversions of non-tenure track positions to tenure-track. In addition, we hired a new faculty member in management: Nancy Hubbard will be the Katowitz Professor of Accounting and Management. We also hired a new associate dean for international studies.

We are getting very good people. In a way, the economic times probably favor us by giving us the pick of the crop not that we don’t always hire good people. But the fact that there are fewer jobs out there probably helps.

 What will the recession mean in a broader sense for institutions of  higher education?

In some ways, when it is all said and done, it will feel as if we skipped a few years in growth and prosperity. There is a temptation, because we do exist in a kind of bubble, to believe that educational institutions are immune from the worst of things. So, in a way, it is a character-building experience to realize that we are not. We got away for a brief moment thinking, Well, there’s terrible economic trouble out there, but not here, not in private colleges. How wrong we were. The conventional wisdom is that not all liberal arts colleges will survive indefi nitely, that those in the best position are the ones that have distinguished themselves from the pack. Goucher has certainly done that, and this course of action was recently commended by the visiting team that recommended our reaccreditation.

Have you spoken with the students about the recession?

One night this spring, at 10, I went on one of my customary after-hours visits to the students in their dorms. I was greatly moved. The students really wanted to know how the recession will affect our lives. They were worried about financial aid and the general welfare of the community. Then they also said, How can we help? I think that is one of the things that is special about Goucher. I’m not saying this is the only place where it happens, but people are really hooked into the community here, and they want to help.

Do you have any thoughts about or advice for the members of the Class of 2009 as they enter the job market?

I think young people will be much more adaptive in the ways that they pursue jobs, and what jobs they consider doing. It is one of those periods in which they will be looking for the job that is out there rather than the perfect job. And increasingly, they realize that they may have several different careers, rather than just one.

Are there any comments that you might want to make to Goucher alumnae/i?

That their generosity is more important to us than ever. The Annual Fund plays a critical role in balancing our budget and making great things possible here.