Recession Economy Tests Harvard

From the WSJ: In 2009, as its endowment plunged by nearly 30%, Harvard University halted construction on a $1.2 billion science center across the Charles River, angering the neighborhood there by leaving behind a foundation and an idle construction site.

Harvard now says it will resume work on the project, but not until 2014 and even then at half the originally planned size, reflecting a newfound fiscal caution at the school. "The economic realities necessitate this," Kevin Casey, a Harvard spokesman, said in June at a community meeting.

Many universities face shaky finances because of declining state aid and weakened returns on endowments. At Harvard—and some of its Ivy League peers —the recession has lingered…

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