Berman said she did not expect any of Harvard’s schools to post a deficit in the current fiscal year, though she added, “I don’t know for sure.”
As part of the University’s fiscal squeeze, Berman and University President Lawrence H. Summers had committed to holding their own internal budget, for the central administration, at 0 percent growth for next fiscal year. A visibly proud Berman said Friday they remained on target to meet that goal.
Berman’s interview with The Crimson, in the vice president’s spacious Mass. Hall office, occurred under the immediate specter of a rally on Mass. Hall protesting layoffs at Harvard’s libraries, most of which fall under the budget of FAS (see story, page A1).
Berman said rising costs for journals and books were outpacing the University’s income, forcing cuts at the libraries. But she said decisions on whether to allocate funds to journals or employees, while included in the final University-wide budget, did not fall under her purview.
“It’s at a level of detail that we don’t spend a lot of time on,” Berman said.
—Staff writer Zachary M. Seward can be reached at seward@fas.harvard.edu.