“These funds force us to provide the depth and breadth of activities and interests that other universities can’t provide,” Huidekoper says.

The Big Picture

In the University’s annual “Financial Report to the Board of Overseers of Harvard College,” Harvard’s sources of income—only one of which is the endowment—are detailed.

In fiscal year 2000, Harvard had an overall income of $2.0 billion, which came from student payments, sponsored revenues and gifts, as well as from the endowment.

Endowment income made up 29 percent of those revenues while student tuition and fees made up 24 percent. Only seven percent of fiscal 2000 revenue came from gifts intended for immediate use.

Sponsored revenue, the money given to Harvard by outside parties—particularly the federal government—to conduct research, accounted for 21 percent of the University’s budget.

At the height of the Cold War, sponsored revenue accounted for the largest single portion of the University’s income but has decreased proportionately in recent years.

The quadrupling of Harvard’s endowment in the 1990s brought endowment payouts to Harvard’s schools from $193 million in 1990 to $556 million in 2000.

“It’s been truly unexpected what’s happened over the last 10 years,” Huidekoper says.

In 1990, endowment income accounted for only 17 percent of University revenue whereas today that number has risen to 29 percent—lessening the University’s dependence on other sources of income.

“The growth of endowment income keeps us from having to increase the burden on students,” Huidekoper says.

As a result, Huidekoper notes that students have seen less rapid tuition increases over the last decade. After an 8.5 percent increase during the 1980s, undergraduate tuition has only gone up 5.4 percent during the 1990s.