Budget Planning Update, March 2010
In December 2008, it was announced that over the next two to three years, MIT would need to reduce expenses in its General Institute Budget by between $100 million and $150 million. In order to help make those cuts as wisely as possible, MIT established an Institute-wide Planning Task Force, which would tap the talent of the Institute to preserve its financial stability and safeguard its most important values.
A year later, MIT is well on its way to meeting this challenge. In Fiscal 2010, the Institute reduced expenses by $58 million on a goal of $50 million: these reductions represented immediately available cost-cutting opportunities. Further reductions would require long-term planning. A year ago, the nine working groups of the Task Force—made up of some 20 students, 85 faculty members, and 90 staff members—began an exploration of how the Institute could maximize efficiency while remaining true to its mission. The Task Force’s recommendations are essential, because in order to keep the General Institute Budget balanced, the Institute must decrease expenses in Fiscal 2011 by $61 million. This figure signals a second year of sacrifice for members of the MIT community, but by taking these difficult steps now, we are, together, positioning MIT to thrive in the years ahead.
To read more about the fiscal planning framework and the need for budgetary reductions, please see the budget planning update below.
Budget Planning Update