Spring Break
Univ joins effort to adopt UPMIFA law
by Michelle Liberman
Staff writer
Budget Central | 2/24/09
Posted online at 8:38 AM EST on 2/24/09
Brandeis is involved in the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts, an effort to get the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to adopt the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act to ease endowment restrictions, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French wrote in a Feb. 19 e-mail to the Justice.
"Brandeis supports enactment of UPMIFA and Brandeis is involved in the AICUM effort," French wrote.
AICUM is coordinating with other private Massachusetts colleges and universities to get UPMIFA enacted by the Massachusetts state legislature. Joe Baerlein, a temporary Brandeis spokesman for the University's public relations firm Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Inc., told the Justice yesterday that AICUM is a "trade association for all the independent colleges, and they work in concert on public policy and legislative issues on behalf of all their members."
Under the current law, which is based on the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, Brandeis is confined to using the money in its reserve fund, which French projects will be eradicated in two years. The law limits the use of an institution's endowment to only when the value of the investment is greater than when the funds were donated. Due to the recent downturn in the economy, the value of the investments that make up Brandeis' endowment is lower than when they were donated.
French wrote in a Feb. 2 e-mail to the Justice, "Most of the donor-designated endowment that is budgeted for operating support is unavailable for spending because the funds are below the original donated value." Only approximately $85 million is available to spend in quasi-endowment funds and scheduled to be withdrawn in fiscal 2009 and 2010.
In a Feb. 11 article in the Wall Street Journal, Baerlein was quoted as saying that no one at Brandeis had reviewed the legislation for UPMIFA. However, Baerlein told the Justice yesterday that as of now, Brandeis' involvement with the UPMIFA legislation is that "AICUM has gotten involved on behalf of its members."
"Brandeis supports enactment of UPMIFA and Brandeis is involved in the AICUM effort," French wrote.
AICUM is coordinating with other private Massachusetts colleges and universities to get UPMIFA enacted by the Massachusetts state legislature. Joe Baerlein, a temporary Brandeis spokesman for the University's public relations firm Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Inc., told the Justice yesterday that AICUM is a "trade association for all the independent colleges, and they work in concert on public policy and legislative issues on behalf of all their members."
Under the current law, which is based on the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, Brandeis is confined to using the money in its reserve fund, which French projects will be eradicated in two years. The law limits the use of an institution's endowment to only when the value of the investment is greater than when the funds were donated. Due to the recent downturn in the economy, the value of the investments that make up Brandeis' endowment is lower than when they were donated.
French wrote in a Feb. 2 e-mail to the Justice, "Most of the donor-designated endowment that is budgeted for operating support is unavailable for spending because the funds are below the original donated value." Only approximately $85 million is available to spend in quasi-endowment funds and scheduled to be withdrawn in fiscal 2009 and 2010.
In a Feb. 11 article in the Wall Street Journal, Baerlein was quoted as saying that no one at Brandeis had reviewed the legislation for UPMIFA. However, Baerlein told the Justice yesterday that as of now, Brandeis' involvement with the UPMIFA legislation is that "AICUM has gotten involved on behalf of its members."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Barry C. Hawkins
posted 3/03/09 @ 9:53 AM EST
I enjoyed reading the article in the Justice about the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act ( UPMIFA) and commend both the Justice and Brandeis students for their interest in this Act. (Continued…)
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