Preliminary numbers on Penn's endowment performance will be released today, and while administrators say the endowment is down, the loss is much smaller than many peer institutions are suffering.
University President Judith Rodin described the preliminary figures as "not a marvelous outcome, but certainly protective."
"On the endowment, we lost much less than the rest of our peers, so I think we're in the top five of performance," Rodin said.
The numbers will be released at a meeting of the University Board of Trustees' Budget and Finance and Executive committees that will review Penn's progress and preliminary annual financial reports.
Approximately 10 trustees from each committee, as well as faculty and staff liaisons, are expected to attend, according to University Secretary Leslie Kruhly. All meetings will be held at the Inn at Penn.
The Budget and Finance Committee meeting, led by Chairman L. John Clark, will include an open session at 9:30 a.m. and a closed executive session at 11:00 a.m. Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Craig Carnaroli and Comptroller Kenneth Campbell will present the University's unaudited annual financial report, which includes figures through the end of Fiscal Year 2002. Health System Chief Financial Officer Peter DeAngelis Jr., will present the system's unaudited financial report.
Landis Zimmerman, Penn's chief investment officer, will update board members on the University's FY 2002 investment performance, and Vice President for Information and Computing Robin Beck will discuss information technology initiatives for FY 2003.
The budget and finance committee is not scheduled to pass any resolutions today.
Rodin said the lack of resolutions in part reflects Penn's focus on "planning and consolidation in the last year."
"Part of that is we [were] in the strategic planning the past year rather than in the strategic doing and so we really did do a little less... less acquisition, less construction authorized, completing projects," Rodin said. "And now with [newly-appointed Executive Vice President] Cliff Stanley coming and with the Strategic Plan implementation really gearing up, this year you'll see an acceleration again."
"It's again part of what I think is a very salutary rhythm -- that you have a plan, you grow, you consolidate your gains, and then you plan, and then you make new efforts again, and that is what is very exciting institutionally," Rodin added.
The Executive Committee, led by Trustees Chairman James Riepe, will hold a stated meeting at 2 p.m., Kruhly said. It will include an address from Rodin, an academic report from Provost Robert Barchi, a financial report from Carnaroli and a Penn Medicine report from Vice Dean of Research and Research Training Glen Gaulton.
The Executive Committee is also scheduled to approve 10 appointments to the Penn Medicine Board, the Penn Medicine Executive Committee and several of the Trustees' boards of overseers.
The Board of Trustees -- the University's main governing body -- holds full meetings in the fall, winter and spring and four separate meetings of the Budget and Finance and Executive Committees throughout the year. The Board's next full meeting will be held on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
