Spending Big, but is it Enough?

An illuminating Times article explains Princeton's spending habits more clearly than most faculty or students could. With $2.2 million per student, Princeton's "per capita" endowment exceeds all others. This makes it an easy target for comments like this: "On a white-shoe campus with aristocratic traditions and one of the highest rates of alumni giving, luxuries abound. "

Indeed, the University spends a sizeable percent of its $15.8 billion endowment each year - 4.6% for 2008. But does Princeton spend in the right places? The article calls into question the financial strain placed on middle-income families when Princeton could easily pay for each person to go to the University for free.

The article also reports the Priority Committee 's (PRICOM) stated goals this year to give more money to clubs and intramurals, while deciding not to expand the budget for sexual harrassment advising.