The drop in the value of endowments at Wisconsin’s three area state universities is expected to reduce the amount of scholarship support each can provide next year.
Between June 30 and Nov. 30, the value of endowments â?? money given for a specific purpose â?? dropped at each school by more than 20 percent, according to figures provided by University of Wisconsin officials.
“We’re affected by the economic downturn just like everybody else,” said Doug Mell, communications director at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, which experienced a 25 percent drop in its endowment in that five-month period, which translates to $8 million.