Decision Makers Gambled, Harvard Lost

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600

IF AN ORDINARY corporation had the kind of fiscal year Harvard University just had, some of its directors would be gone. Long-term investments down $11 billion; another $1.8 billion lost by top management speculating with cash accounts; another half-billion gone in an untimely exit from a debt rate gambit. The institution left so illiquid that it was forced to sell assets and issue bonds at the worst possible time, just to pay the bills. A publicly held company would have experienced a shareholder rebellion - especially after the Globe reported that the chief investment officer had repeatedly warned the president about the risks he was taking with the institution’s cash.

But...

RealClearPolitics - Articles by Fred Abernathy and Harry Lewis

Decision Makers Gambled, Harvard Lost