The 2011 fiscal year saw the slow reversal of the negative effects of the College's budget crisis brought on by the recession in 2008. This recovery was accompanied by a variety of construction and renovation projects aimed at improving the Dartmouth student and faculty experience.
In 2009, the Office of Finance and Administration projected a budget deficit of $96 million for the 2012 fiscal year. In April 2010, by contrast, predictions indicated a $2.6 million surplus.
Currently, the College plans to earn $870 million in revenue for the 2012 fiscal year, Senior Vice President of the College Steven Kadish previously told The Dartmouth. Part of the revenue will come from a 5.9 percent increase in tuition, room, board and fees. With the increase, approved by the Board of Trustees in March, tuition costs will total $55,365, making Dartmouth one of the most expensive Ivy League schools.
While the College will maintain its need-blind admissions policy, officials reinstated loans for families earning $75,000 year. As a result, the College expects to save $11.4 million in financial aid over the next fiscal year.
The 2012 budget includes an $876 million operating budget for the College and its affiliated graduate schools, as well as a $45 million capital budget for construction projects like a house for Alpha Phi sorority.
The College will likely see a $3 million increase in financial aid expenditures in the 2011-2012 academic year. This totals a projected $80 million, up from this year's $77 million. College general funds will pay for the added financial aid, which includes the tuition increase.
Following campus-wide budget cuts, Dick's House the College's medical center eliminated its staff psychiatrist, staff psychologist, medical records employees, two programming assistants from the Health Promotion department and a "unit tech" responsible for in-house cleaning, The Dartmouth previously reported. The discontinuing of the first-year dean position following administrative restructuring forced more students to seek counseling services at Dick's House, resulting in longer wait times for students.
In response to requests made by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, College officials presented a budget report in May predicting a $2.6 million surplus in the College's budget for the 2012 fiscal year. Following projections made in 2009, the College had pursued reductions to close an expected budget gap of nearly $100 million.
"As far as tackling the budget gap, we had about 80 percent of it resolved last June and we didn't keep the same level of communication up as last year," Kadish previously told The Dartmouth.
Savings have come from sources including increased parking and fines, the elimination of vacant positions and changes to the Information Technology division. College employees' health care plans were also reduced by $15 million beginning in January 2011, costing workers up to $4,000 a year, and the College also began subcontracting positions at Thompson Arena, the Hanover Inn, the Dartmouth Skiway and the King Arthur Flour cafe in Berry Library.
As of the beginning of 2011, the College had rehired six of the 44 employees laid off in fiscal year 2010 and 16 of the 60 employees laid off in fiscal year 2009.
Academic departments also felt the impact of budget cuts during the past fiscal year, as they experienced the elimination of staff positions, reductions in course offerings and delays in equipment updates, The Dartmouth reported in March.
Between 2010 and 2011, budget-influenced administrative restructuring led to the creation of financial centers centralizing the financial and human resource decision-making processes for various departments. The Administrative Financial Center and the Tuck and Thayer Financial Center were both created to streamline transactions and promote expertise.
"These guys are finding tons of money tons," Kadish told The Dartmouth in February. "They're finding really innovative ways to re-bid and get what Dartmouth needs at the same or better quality."
Despite layoffs, course reductions and an increase in attendance cost, the College has pursued a variety of campus renovations and construction projects, including the Main Hall of Baker-Berry Library, the Class of 1953 Commons and a new Visual Arts Center.
Chairs, sofas and tables were installed in the historic Main Hall of Baker-Berry Library during Winter term to provide students with an additional space to study and socialize.
Construction workers broke ground on the Class of 1953 Commons over Summer term 2010, leaving various sections of the former Thayer Dining Hall inaccessible during Fall, Winter and Spring terms. Renovations continue this Summer, and are scheduled to be completed in time for the beginning of Fall 2011.
As Summer term progresses, faculty members in the biology department are relocating to the new Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, which will open to the public in September. The center "the most expensive and biggest" building Dartmouth has ever built was originally estimated at $93 million before budget cuts prompted a $7.5 million reduction, biology department chair Thomas Jack previously told The Dartmouth.
Renovations underway on Thompson Arena, Dartmouth's ice hockey rink, include new dasher boards and seamless glass around the hockey rink, as well as improved refrigeration, heating and cooling systems in the building. The refurbishments, approved by the Board in June, aim to increase the lifespan of the building and should be completed by the end of Summer term. Funding for the project will come from the College's capital reserve budget, Chief of Staff David Spalding previously told The Dartmouth.
Construction also continues on the new Visual Arts Center this summer, as project managers work toward a May 2012 completion date. The center, designed in close proximity to the Hood Museum and the Hopkins Center, will take the place of the Clement Building, a former car dealership converted into a visual arts studio. The building, which will host classes beginning in September 2012, will include a screening room, theater, art forum, gallery, sculpture studio, film studio, photography space, drawing studio, print making studio and architecture studio. The project was facilitated by a $50 million donation to the College.
