March 2022 Finance Town Hall

J. Michael Gower, Executive Vice President – Chief Financial Officer and University Treasurer, hosted a Finance Town Hall on March 30 for more than 400 attendees to share the latest developments in finance and other universitywide initiatives. You can access the video on demand and meeting presentation in the March 2022 Finance Town Hall Meeting Recaps folder.

Rutgers University Foundation
Kimberly Hopely, President, Rutgers University Foundation and Executive Vice President for Development and Alumni Engagement, shared some aspects of the Rutgers University Foundation and the direction it is going. She brought to light the parallels between the mission of the Foundation and President Holloway’s vision for the future of Rutgers.

Kimberly stated she is “a fan of the why, what and how” because it clarifies the purpose, culture and functional framework of the University Foundation. Its purpose is to advance Rutgers through philanthropic support and by also engaging and activating the alumni base. Her office has also committed to adopting a culture of radical responsibility by becoming more responsive, respectful, and reflective toward others. She acknowledged that the adoption and implementation of this new culture will take time and invited feedback on how her office can be make improvements in these areas. She mentioned the functional framework and the key areas of engagement and performance that the university needs from the Foundation and alumni.

Hopely highlighted a comprehensive campaign that would shine a light on the university. She said, “The purpose of this campaign is to focus on what’s important to the University, or the persona, character and ethos of the university that makes it distinct.” The potential and emerging themes of the campaign are access to education, beloved community and common good. Her desire is that anyone who cares about the mission and purpose of Rutgers, will be drawn to and participate in this campaign.

Rutgers University Investment Office
Jason MacDonald, Chief Investment Officer, opened his presentation by giving a high-level overview of the relationship between the Rutgers University Foundation and Rutgers University Investment Office. Jason explained, “the Foundation raises all of the money for endowments and we invest it.” The endowment funds are invested to support the long-term growth of a variety of causes and the current needs of the university. It pays out 4% of its market values annually to support these causes.

Next, he shared the governance structure of his team and made special mention of the current team of student and alumni interns that support his office. Jason also expressed that working virtually during the pandemic afforded his office the ability to expand the current pool of interns to include students from the Camden and Newark campuses. MacDonald also highlighted the Investment Office’s culture, its objectives and keys to success, the current portfolio, endowment growth performance and other accomplishments. He concluded by stating one of the ultimate goals of his office is, “to contribute positively to the university community and move us in a better direction.”

FY 2022 Budget and Forecast
David B. Moore, Associate Vice President and Chief Budget Officer, shared the approved FY 2022 budget and mid-year forecast. The total approved budget of $4.8B is spent primarily on Rutgers’ core missions of student instruction, research, public service and patient care. Other costs include administration, operation and maintenance, auxiliary enterprise, and athletics.

Moore also shared a portion of the forecasted expenses report through December 2022, which showed that the total compensation is trailing behind the prior year. This is primarily due to an increase in position vacancies, retirements and attritions. With the exception of scholarship, fellowships and travel, other categories have started to return to pre-pandemic levels. Most revenue sources are also on par with the approved budget.

The FY 2022 Q2 forecast for Rutgers University reflects a year-end surplus of approximately 0.74%. In closing, Moore stated that in order to remain in line with the approved budget, “we must continue prudent spending, strategic use of limited federal relief funds, reserve current year spending and embrace the operational lessons learned during the pandemic.”

Ask the Experts Sessions
Immediately after the Finance Town Hall concluded, a separate series of Zoom sessions were held. The sessions gave attendees the opportunity to meet and “ask the experts” questions. The following departments participated in the sessions:
 

• University Ethics and Compliance: Miranda Alfonso-Williams and Casey Woods
• University Procurement Services: Gary Kucsan, Rachael Domingo, Patti Perrone, Anne Gutsick, Trish Reynolds and Mike Philips
• University Budget Office: David Moore, Kathy Walker, Vincent So and Latif Fakeh
• Research Financial Services: Lamar Oglesby, Anna Dampf, and Vivian Thomas-McClain