Posted by Mark Weiss
a resident of Downtown North

on Aug 5, 2020 at 10:53 am
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Posted by Alum
a resident of Portola Valley
on Aug 5, 2020 at 1:50 pm
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With a $27 billion endowment, the obvious question is why doesn't the Stanford board of trustees decide to simply absorb the expected losses as a "once in a lifetime" event?
Those who are among the unfortunate individuals being terminated cannot help but look at the size of the endowment and wonder what message this round of layoffs sends about Stanford's priorities.

Posted by chris
a resident of University South
on Aug 5, 2020 at 2:32 pm
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The university is substantially increasing the payout from the endowment next year. However, most of the endowment is restricted in its use and cannot be used to support deficits. The university would have to borrow the money and may have to anyway. The downturn will not be short so expenses will have to be reduced sooner or later.

Posted by Online Name
a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Aug 5, 2020 at 2:42 pm
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Doesn't the university have lawyers and mechanisms to revise how the endowment is administered in extraordinary circumstances?