While much of the world has been hit hard by the recent economic crisis, Georgetown has suffered only minor financial losses, university officials say.

“Market declines were reflected in a slight decrease in net assets,” university spokesperson Julie Bataille said.

Over the last two years, the university has experienced a 9 percent increase in net assets and capital spending has continued, notably in the construction of the new McDonough School of Business.

It is still early to detect changes in donation levels, but as of now, there has been no significant change in the level of support in the form of donations compared with recent years, according to Bill O’Leary, associate vice president for marketing and communications.

“As of today, we have not seen a significant change in levels of support compared to recent years,” he said. “We are watching closely the financial and economic situation to see how it will affect support to Georgetown.”

Growing concerns over the status of Georgetown’s endowment have surfaced in recent weeks as credit markets tighten and investors worldwide are pulling their money out of the financial markets.

“Georgetown’s investment strategy includes diversification of our portfolio and the avoidance of highly leveraged funds which both should help mitigate or reduce the impact on our investments,” university spokesperson Julie Bataille said.

She added that the investment strategy with regard to the endowment was long-term and that there is “no need to panic” given recent developments in the markets. Bataille said that the university is keeping in touch with its investment managers to monitor the current economic situation.

O’Leary said that, so far, the in-flow of alumni donations has not been affected. The university is continuing to work with alumni, particular those working in the financial sector, he said.

He explained that, historically, philanthropic support in the United States has remained close to two percent of the GDP and that when the GDP rises or contracts, the amount of philanthropic support does as well.

“You would expect that philanthropic support in the U.S. will contract a bit with the economy,” he said.

Bataille said that the university has come in under budget for the last four years, this year by approximately $41.2 million.

Both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s financial rankings have given the university positive ratings with “stable outlooks” according to Bataille.

Total capital spending amounted to $78 million for the 2008 fiscal year.

Alumni Career Services will be holding a number of events in New York, given the large number of Georgetown alumni working in New York and in the region’s financial services industry.

“Advancement is focused on providing support to Georgetown alumni,” O’Leary said.

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