Economic Hard Times in the Academy -- Observations on How Bad It Has Become, How Rough It May Get, and How Institutions Can Prudently and Thoughtfully Plan for Continued Financial Turbulence
In the past year, our nation's economy has absorbed a series of staggering blows. Trillions of dollars of the market value of publicly traded stock have evaporated, unemployment has risen markedly, and in some parts of the country it is almost impossible to secure intermediate or long-term loans. Higher education has already been severely affected. Stagnant or declining enrollments, cuts in funding, hostility to tuition increases, eroded endowments, and steadily growing fixed costs have forced many institutions to freeze hiring, postpone capital projects, and reduce instructional costs. Higher education lawyer and consultant Larry White offers an assessment of the impact the financial meltdown has already had on the nation's colleges and universities, and describes how higher education may be forced to adjust in new and potentially more drastic ways in the months ahead. In his remarks he outlines long-term changes that may be the enduring legacy of the tough times we confront today.
LAWRENCE WHITE
President, Lawrence White Consulting
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaLawrence White has worked for thirty years as a lawyer and administrator in the higher education and nonprofit sectors. In 2005 he founded Lawrence White Consulting, a firm that specializes in providing legal, operational and strategic services to institutions of higher education nationally. From 2003 to 2005 Mr. White served as Chief Counsel to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Prior to that he worked as University Counsel at Georgetown University, Deputy General Counsel at the University of Virginia, counsel to the Board of Regents of the University of Maryland System, counsel to Morgan State University, and Assistant Secretary and Associate Counsel to the American Association of University Professors. He is an adjunct member of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and has also taught at Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Mr. White is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys ("NACUA"), served as a NACUA director and officer, and in 2001 was selected as a NACUA Fellow for "outstanding contributions to the practice of law on behalf of higher education clients." He received his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. degree from Harvard University. He and his wife Wendy, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at the University of Pennsylvania, live in Philadelphia.