NACUBO in the News on COVID-19

Updated 8/28/20 

NACUBO in the News

NACUBO experts have been responding to frequent media inquiries about how COVID-19 is affecting colleges and universities across the country:

Susan Whealler Johnston, NACUBO president and CEO:

• Spoke with The Chronicle of Higher Education about the nature of restricted gifts to endowments

Liz Clark, NACUBO vice president, policy and research:

• Provided a high-level explanation of college endowments and spending policy to WSJ Noted.
• Responded to questions about college closures from Money magazine
• Spoke with East Bay Times about Stanford University's decision to decline CARES Act funding
• Provided comments to The Mercury News on college endowments and some of the challenges facing higher education

Bryan Dickson, NACUBO director, student financial services and educational programs:

• Discussed the University of California's decision to suspend interest and payments on Perkins Loans with The Washington Post

Jim Hundrieser, NACUBO vice president for consulting services: 

• Commented on enrollment pressures in a Reuters article that was picked up by nearly forty other publications including the New York Times.
• Commented on endowment spending, restrictions, and the financial effects of coronavirus to Inside Higher Ed  
• Was featured, alongside data from the 2019 NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments, in an article in The Washington Free Beacon on the financial implications of COVID-19
• Spoke with Consumer Reports about how institutions will deliver financial aid to students as they navigate the coronavirus crisis.
• Continued his conversation with Education Dive, speaking about the costs, and potential opportunities, of coronavirus
• Spoke with ABC about why most universities cannot rely on endowments to respond to COVID-19
• Discussed revenue and refunds with Education Dive

Sue Menditto, NACUBO senior director, accounting policy:

• Spoke with the Chronicle of Higher Education about the financial health of private colleges

Ken Redd, NACUBO senior director, research and policy analysis:

• Spoke with Education Dive about institutions considering ESG investment strategies amid COVID-19 disruptions
• Discussed Fall 2020 student enrollments and why institutions may feel pressure to reduce tuition with The Boston Globe

Megan Schneider, NACUBO senior director, government affairs:

• Spoke with Financial Times about donor intent in college and university endowments

Research conducted by NACUBO's policy and research team has also informed news stories:

• NACUBO's research on Q.1 2020 endowment returns has been featured in numerous articles that include:
  • College Endowments lost 13% in First-Quarter Pandemic Rout (Bloomberg) 
  • How is the pandemic affecting college endowments? (Education Dive)
  • Endowment Values Dropped 13.4% on Average in Q1 (Inside Higher Ed)
  • Higher education endowments tumble 13.4% in Q1 survey (Pensions & Investments)
  Money Magazine cited NACUBO's May 5 flash poll on CARES Act emergency grant aid for students in an article about how colleges are receiving and distributing grant funding.