2009 Annual Report Update

The Nicholas School responded to the challenges of a weak economy during fiscal year 2008-09 by balancing its budget, while continuing to aggressively pursue its mission critical activities. Expense reductions were made in most administrative functions, enabling strategic investments to continue in direct support of teaching and research, allowing us to hire new faculty and recruit a record 2011 class. Contributions to the annual fund and earnings on established endowments were essential components of our revenue stream, allowing us to achieve these goals.

Many people don’t realize that tuition supports a little more than one quarter of the Nicholas School’s annual budget of about $49 million. The largest source of revenue derives from research grants. Indirect cost recovery on those grants supplies about 7 percent of the total revenue.

Just as research grants bring significant funding on the Nicholas School, they also are an equivalent source of expenditures—to get the work done. Expenses for educational programs account for about one-third of total expenses, dominated by faculty salaries and financial aid for our students.

Each year the budget is affected by changes in our success in obtaining research grants and by changes in tuition revenue derived from student enrollment. Other categories of revenue and expense are more constant and difficult to change in response to changing conditions. Nevertheless, the school is in good financial shape thanks to the contributions of our faculty, our students and our loyal supporters.