Comments on: Economic Dissonance and a Community in Tune http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/10/07/economic-dissonance-and-a-community-in-tune/ Michael S. Roth became Wesleyan University's 16th president on July 1, 2007. Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:17:25 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Phillip Adams http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/10/07/economic-dissonance-and-a-community-in-tune/comment-page-1/#comment-11968 Phillip Adams Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:35:54 +0000 http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/?p=122#comment-11968 Nate, That's a great idea. There are so many ways to mount the panels, we could probably have them on every building without much (if any) reduction to the general aesthetics that come from the buildings themselves. I mean, if we wanted to, we could just glue the panels straight to the roofs, and that would be quite a camouflage. But however it is done, I do believe that self-sufficiency is the way to go. Mrs. Potter, I believe you also have an excellent idea. From what I know, pretty much the safest investments you can make right now are in government bonds and the like, so having people invest like that in Wesleyan seems logical as well. While I can't be considered very knowledgeable on this subject, an idea like that seems, at the very least, a great jump off point in our struggle to thrive in this harsh economic climate. Thank you both for your ideas, and now, you've got me thinking too. -Phillip Nate,
That’s a great idea. There are so many ways to mount the panels, we could probably have them on every building without much (if any) reduction to the general aesthetics that come from the buildings themselves. I mean, if we wanted to, we could just glue the panels straight to the roofs, and that would be quite a camouflage. But however it is done, I do believe that self-sufficiency is the way to go.

Mrs. Potter, I believe you also have an excellent idea. From what I know, pretty much the safest investments you can make right now are in government bonds and the like, so having people invest like that in Wesleyan seems logical as well. While I can’t be considered very knowledgeable on this subject, an idea like that seems, at the very least, a great jump off point in our struggle to thrive in this harsh economic climate.

Thank you both for your ideas, and now, you’ve got me thinking too.

-Phillip

]]> By: Claire Potter http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/10/07/economic-dissonance-and-a-community-in-tune/comment-page-1/#comment-11825 Claire Potter Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:02:48 +0000 http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/?p=122#comment-11825 I like this idea. Here's another. I have wondered how feasible it is to have Wesleyan employees and trustees have, as part of their retirement portfolio, the opportunity to purchase Wesleyan bond issues. I gather that we have a lot of paper on the street right now, paper that we are going to have difficulty paying off in a timely way if our donors are as skittish as everyone else's donors, or re-financing/reselling under current market conditions. Although we are all now aware that having one's retirement savings tied up with one's employer is not wise, we are all diversified through TIAA-CREF and other instruments, and Wesleyan is no Enron. While this would only make sense for those of us who are younger than sixty and not looking at immediate retirement, it would stand out as a relatively good investment in uncertain times for many of us who are loathe to speculate with the bulk of our investments in this market. I think we know Wesleyan will be there twenty, fifty, or a hundred years from now, barring a catastrophe that would make all money irrelevant. And it would be a way for the Wesleyan community to pitch in and help, even if many of us are worried about giving away money at this juncture. Tenured (sometimes not very) Radical I like this idea. Here’s another.

I have wondered how feasible it is to have Wesleyan employees and trustees have, as part of their retirement portfolio, the opportunity to purchase Wesleyan bond issues. I gather that we have a lot of paper on the street right now, paper that we are going to have difficulty paying off in a timely way if our donors are as skittish as everyone else’s donors, or re-financing/reselling under current market conditions. Although we are all now aware that having one’s retirement savings tied up with one’s employer is not wise, we are all diversified through TIAA-CREF and other instruments, and Wesleyan is no Enron.

While this would only make sense for those of us who are younger than sixty and not looking at immediate retirement, it would stand out as a relatively good investment in uncertain times for many of us who are loathe to speculate with the bulk of our investments in this market. I think we know Wesleyan will be there twenty, fifty, or a hundred years from now, barring a catastrophe that would make all money irrelevant.
And it would be a way for the Wesleyan community to pitch in and help, even if many of us are worried about giving away money at this juncture.

Tenured (sometimes not very) Radical

]]> By: Nate Kaufman '08 http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/10/07/economic-dissonance-and-a-community-in-tune/comment-page-1/#comment-11697 Nate Kaufman '08 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:47:44 +0000 http://roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu/?p=122#comment-11697 Dear President Roth, Typically, universities' endowments are expected to make a certain amount of interest each year based on smart investments, yet these investments certainly involve some level of risk, as we have unfortunately seen over the past several months (and which Wesleyan saw to a greater extent a couple decades ago). While those who handle our endowment are certainly good at what they do, there are no guarantees with our investments. But what if Wesleyan started making investments that WERE guaranteed? We know that the return on investment for, say, solar panels on campus would be around 20 years or less, depending on energy prices (which are skyrocketing) and technology (which is quickly advancing). Wesleyan is planning to be around for 20 years, I assume. Why not invest in our own campus energy revolution and produce our own, renewable energy on campus? A large initial investment now would mean not having to pay exorbitant electricity bills ever again, thus saving the university millions of dollars each year. Wouldn't that be a pretty sound investment, considering we don't know what's going to happen to our economy over the next decade or two (though the signs aren't looking promising)? Not to mention the other obvious benefits of such a plan: we would be carrying out your pledge to the Presidents Climate Commitment, making Wesleyan an environmental and energy leader among all universities and institutions, and reducing the impacts of global climate change. Perhaps it's time for Wesleyan to practice what it preaches by thinking outside the box, and take a bold step like this to set an example for the rest of the country--and MAKE money in the long run, guaranteed. Dear President Roth,
Typically, universities’ endowments are expected to make a certain amount of interest each year based on smart investments, yet these investments certainly involve some level of risk, as we have unfortunately seen over the past several months (and which Wesleyan saw to a greater extent a couple decades ago). While those who handle our endowment are certainly good at what they do, there are no guarantees with our investments. But what if Wesleyan started making investments that WERE guaranteed?

We know that the return on investment for, say, solar panels on campus would be around 20 years or less, depending on energy prices (which are skyrocketing) and technology (which is quickly advancing). Wesleyan is planning to be around for 20 years, I assume. Why not invest in our own campus energy revolution and produce our own, renewable energy on campus? A large initial investment now would mean not having to pay exorbitant electricity bills ever again, thus saving the university millions of dollars each year.

Wouldn’t that be a pretty sound investment, considering we don’t know what’s going to happen to our economy over the next decade or two (though the signs aren’t looking promising)? Not to mention the other obvious benefits of such a plan: we would be carrying out your pledge to the Presidents Climate Commitment, making Wesleyan an environmental and energy leader among all universities and institutions, and reducing the impacts of global climate change. Perhaps it’s time for Wesleyan to practice what it preaches by thinking outside the box, and take a bold step like this to set an example for the rest of the country–and MAKE money in the long run, guaranteed.

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