Easy money for hard times

In the coming months, in light of the recent economic downturn, Princeton's culture of giving faces a definitive test. With the University's multi-billion-dollar endowment, giving back may understandably not be near the top of many alumni priority lists. But alumni who are able to give unrestricted gifts can - and should - give the University more flexibility to help it ride out economic downturns.

Though Princeton does not yet face a pressing crisis, ominous signs are on the horizon. Harvard, the richest university in the world, recently suggested that it is considering freezing salaries and cutting back on future capital projects. Moody's, a financial research firm, projected that university endowments will fall 30 percent this year. Provost Christopher Eisgruber '83 and other administrators have suggested this week that the University will cut back on future budget increases, particularly if the downturn persists longer than expected.

Princeton's endowment is supposed to protect it in stormy financial conditions like these. But much of the endowment is restricted to specific University functions, which gives the University little flexibility to reallocate spending to protect its priorities. The University should not be compelled by the lack of flexible endowment dollars to consider scaling back on vital academic needs like graduate student stipends and faculty salaries.

With this in mind, alumni should give special consideration to unrestricted gifts. As long as the learning, teaching and social growth that stand at the core of Princeton continue to be threatened, then the gifts that do the most good will be those that leave the University with the most freedom to act. This is especially true when what is most essential to the University's health is easy to overlook.

Times are increasingly difficult, but by increasing Princeton's flexibility to reallocate endowment funds, alumni will give their alma mater a powerful tool to surmount its fiscal challenges. To the Princeton alumni who have given to make our time at Princeton possible: Thank you. Now more than ever, Princeton needs alumni to continue to give both generously and strategically so that future Princetonians will enjoy the same unparalleled resources and education that this school has given us.