Who You Know?

Most universities encounter a host of financial issues on a yearly basis, especially in today's economic climate. Some schools are fortunate enough to have the funds to work through those issues. Harvard, for example, will probably never need to worry because they have an endowment of over $30,000,000,000 (yes, that is a set of nine zeroes after the 30). Most small schools, especially Liberal Arts Colleges, don't come any where near that kind of endowment. For example, one of the best Liberal Arts Colleges in the country, Davidson (consistently ranked as one of the ten best) has an endowment of around $500 million dollars. Yes, that is a lot of money, but a pittance compared to Harvard. Then there is Washington and Lee University, only about 7 miles from Southern Virginia University. W&L has an amazing history and a $1.2 Billion endowment. Southern Virginia would love to have a fraction of that. As it is, our endowment is an embarrassment, but it is growing, as is the school, toward a much more sustainable model.

Why do I bother with all these numbers? Today we had convocation, which was attended by all faculty, the president, the provost, and a few members of the Board of Trustees. Apparently, one of those members, the Vice Chair of the Board, served his LDS Mission in France, and one of his companions was one Willard Mitt Romney, a man who is now worth around $250,000,000. So let's say, "Hey, Mitt, can you write us a check for a few million or fifty?" He wouldn't miss it, and it's not like he wouldn't make it back in no time. The man could single-handedly provide Southern Virginia University with a comfortable endowment. We could have a Mitt Romney endowed professorship or a Romney building. Yeah, I would feel a little out of sorts with those last two, especially if I held that professorship or taught in that building, but if it gets us the money, I am all over it.