April 2, 2026 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM (Eastern)
Many faculty in Ivy+ universities have enjoyed the freedom to teach, conduct research, and serve their departments without concern for the broad forces shaping their universities’ financial strategies. Recent events, however, have driven faculty to want to learn more. How has university funding changed in recent years and what do those changes–and new realities in the present–mean for our future? What should faculty know about university finances to make their best case for the institution's budget to reflect their shared, core values?
Our next interactive session will leave participants with:
A good sense of universities’ major revenue and expenditure drivers
The distinct trends and challenges for selective private institutions
Frameworks for thinking about the constantly evolving context and future
This virtual colloquium will be led by Bridget Terry Long, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor and Saris Professor of Education and Economics in the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Long’s research as an economist brings to Ivy+ FAN a scholarly perspective on higher education finance; her practical wisdom on the subject has been earned as dean of HGSE (2018-24), service to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and numerous testimonies to U.S. Senate Committees and state governmental bodies.
ARRIVE TO ENGAGE
What puzzles you most about your university's revenue sources, expense drivers, or financial models?
What might your president’s, provost’s, or CFO’s latest communications to the academic community referencing the institution’s financial picture tell you about the university’s (or its current stakeholders’) values? Comparing statements from various presidents can be particularly illuminating. (For example, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton.)
Colloquium Leader
BRIDGET TERRY LONG
Bridget Long is the Saris Professor of Education and Economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor. A member of the HGSE faculty since 2000, Long served as dean of HGSE from 2018 to 2024. During that time, Long led the school through the implementation of their redesigned master’s program, the pivot to remote education during AY20-21, and the introduction of a new online master’s degree, along with expanding HGSE’s external engagement and partnerships. She served as academic dean from 2013 to 2017, and the faculty director of the Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs from 2010 to 2013.
Long is an economist whose work focuses on improving educational opportunity and student success. Her studies have provided evidence on the effectiveness of financial aid policies, postsecondary remedial education, and support programs on educational attainment. Several projects also examine the effects of providing information and assistance with college processes on the likelihood that students engage in important educational activities. As part of this line of research, she and co-authors have developed a series of interventions and worked with multiple schools and other organizations to evaluate the impact of these initiatives on behaviors such as saving for college, the completion of financial aid forms, and persistence in higher education. Long’s other research projects examine the role of instructor quality, class size, and support programs on educational attainment.
Ivy+ FAN Virtual Colloquium:
Policy & Finance
Dialogues for Ivy+ faculty who want to understand how their universities work and the roles faculty can play in helping them work better.