October 20, 2020: Important Financial Update

Date: October 20, 2020

From: Andy Tanaka

Subject: Important Financial Update

Dear Members of the Campus Community,

As we reach the midpoint of the fall semester—a point we’re thankful to arrive at safely together on campus—I write with a promised financial update.

First, let me express our continued appreciation for the extraordinary ongoing contributions of our faculty and staff. We have found so many new ways to deliver the outstanding academic and extracurricular experiences that characterize a Wesleyan education. Despite significant financial pressure due to necessary investments in pandemic preparation and safety measures on campus, as well as lower enrollment revenue, we have managed to contain and, in many cases, curtail expenses.

Thanks to the budget savings offered by departments across campus, coupled with strategic use of reserve funds, our outlook on fiscal 2021 is better today than it was just a month ago. And so, while we had been considering changing the University’s approach to retirement contributions, we have decided not to make changes for this calendar year.

Instead, we will continue to find operational savings and carefully track expenditures. We look to all of you for your continued partnership in these efforts. It is also important to keep in mind the fragile state of our public health situation and economy at present. Should we need to shift online during the remainder of this semester, or should spring enrollment come in below expectations, we will need to revisit our approach. Whatever challenges we face, please know that any compensation cuts will be a last resort.

Please expect another update early next calendar year, when we will have a clearer picture of how the spring semester is unfolding. And please be well in the interim.

Andy Tanaka
Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Treasurer