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The university continues to be in great financial health, largely because of faculty and staff who are “keenly focused on the institution’s core missions while … endeavoring to develop new ideas to contain costs.”
That’s the assessment of Timothy P. Slottow, executive vice president and chief financial officer. He offers his perspective in the introduction of the 2012 Financial Report, approved Oct. 19 by the Board of Regents.
“Because of their unyielding commitment to building on the institution’s strong foundation and tradition of excellence, we continue to have the resources to make strategic investments in the facilities, program and people that make U-M one of the best public research universities in the world.”
President Mary Sue Coleman noted in her opening letter of the annual financial report that U-M’s academic strength lies in the diversity of students and faculty. That strength, she says, carries over to the university’s finances.
“We work tirelessly to control costs for students and their families because we do not want to lose anyone due to financial pressures. The university again this year was able to significantly boost financial aid — to the point that most in-state students with financial need saw no increase in the cost of attendance.”
The university’s consolidated financial statement for all three campuses was audited by the independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Among the highlights of the financial report are:
• The university continues to maintain the highest credit ratings from both Standard & Poor’s (AAA) and Moody’s Investor Services (Aaa).
• Total net assets as of June 30, 2012, totaled $10.8 billion with total assets at $15.7 billion and total liabilities of $4.9 billion.
• Research spending totaled $1.3 billion, the fourth straight year the university has surpassed the $1 billion mark.
•The annualized investment rate of return over the past decade for the U-M’s Long Term Portfolio, which includes the endowment, stands at 9.6 percent.
• Donors made gifts of cash and pledge payments totaling $288 million, an increase of 5.5 percent over the previous year. The number of donors increased by 4,000 to a total of 120,000.
• During the past decade, the university has invested an average of $523 million a year in the renovation and replacement of buildings and related infrastructure.
