VII. FINANCE

Funding new initiatives identified by means of the strategic planning process will require balancing current commitments against future needs. Our goals are: (1) to reduce spending through enhanced efficiencies rather than through reductions in important services; and (2) increase revenues through fundraising efforts and improved portfolio returns. This dual approach will allow us to maintain the momentum of the past five years, increase our relatively small endowment per student, and adopt new priorities identified as a result of this strategic planning exercise.

An updated version of the five-year financial forecast shows that a combination of budget reduction measures in fiscal year '06 and focused efforts to increase WAF significantly by fiscal year '07 will enable us to meet current commitments. Preliminary fundraising projections by category indicate that, even with moderate growth in fundraising, we should be able to begin funding new priorities.

Yet, it is unlikely that we will be able to fund all of these initiatives simultaneously in the short term. As a result, we will need to focus our fundraising efforts on our highest priorities. Depending upon the particular initiatives we select, our fundraising efforts will focus on unrestricted or restricted current funds (to jump start new programs), endowment (to provide ongoing support for new academic initiatives), or capital funds (to support facilities initiatives).