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Hamilton, NY — At a March 17 meeting, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ University’s board of trustees approved a $108.4-million operating budget for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. The budget includes funds for several new and ongoing initiatives, such as hiring additional faculty, sustaining a strong financial aid program and supporting curricular innovation.

The trustees also set student charges (tuition, room and board and student activity fee) for the 2002-2003 academic year at $35,130, a 4.9 percent increase over 2001-2002. Representing a higher percentage increase than those of recent years, the charges reflect both º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½â€™s need to respond to current economic circumstances and its commitment to providing a diverse student body with the best possible educational experience.

Although º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ was among the few private colleges that avoided losses in their endowments last year, growth was extremely modest compared to the gains of the late 1990s. The university structured a zero-sum budget for the 2002-2003 fiscal year, continuing its long history of maintaining a lean administration while dedicating resources to the needs of students and faculty.

‘In this challenging economic environment, program enhancements can be more difficult for private colleges and universities to initiate,’ said David Hale, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½â€™s financial vice president and treasurer. ‘Fortunately, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½â€™s endowment will provide more than $21 million to operations ‘ a six percent increase over the current year. In addition, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ continues to benefit from the very generous charitable gift and volunteer support it receives from so many dedicated alumni, parents and friends of the university. As a result, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ is moving forward on many fronts.’

º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ will continue its program of need-based financial aid during the coming academic year, Hale said. Currently, more than 40 percent of º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ students receive financial aid. The average award is approximately $24,000, including an average of nearly $20,000 in direct grant aid from the university. º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ students graduate with the lowest average amount of debt among the U.S. News ‘top 25’ liberal arts colleges.

Hale also detailed an array of curricular and extracurricular initiatives:

To allow for both smaller class sizes and expanded curricular opportunities, four new faculty positions will be added in the fall of 2002. This action is part of a plan begun in the fall of 2001 to substantially increase the size of the permanent faculty during the first half of this decade.

º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ is committed to a program launched this year that takes on-campus academic endeavors beyond the borders of Hamilton. Academic classes will visit major northeast urban centers, e.g. New York City and Toronto, as well as many regional upstate cities to pursue a variety of educational opportunities.

In response to extraordinary initiative taken by many º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ students in the past few years, a unique program has been added to the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ landscape. The COVE (The Center for Outreach, Volunteerism and Education) has been launched with permanent office and student lounge space on campus. The COVE has already demonstrated its effectiveness in combining education with opportunities for students to gain practical experience as community volunteers. Several º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ courses have begun to incorporate service learning into their curriculum in conjunction with the efforts of the COVE.

The Palace Theater will open in the Village of Hamilton this spring. The Palace will be a dance venue featuring both local and national acts, with programming aimed toward student preferences.

A new and much improved university bookstore, located in the village, will be open for business at the beginning of the fall semester. It will provide students and others with a much broader selection of trade books, music, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ insignia items and educational materials.

Founded in 1819, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ University is a highly selective, residential, liberal arts college enrolling nearly 2,750 undergraduates. Situated on a rolling 515-acre campus in central New York State, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ University attracts motivated students with diverse backgrounds, interests and talents.

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