Duke Trustees Approve 2006-07 Budget

The Duke University Board of Trustees on Saturday approved an operating budget of $1.7 billion for the 2006-07 fiscal year beginning July 1. Revenues in the FY 06/07 budget are about 5.3 percent higher than those budgeted for the current fiscal year.

The budget includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing, but excludes Duke Hospital and other components of the Duke University Health System, which are budgeted separately.

The new budget includes a current fund operating budget of $896 million, other operating funds of $251 million, and sponsored funds -- such as those allocated by the government for research projects -- of $517 million.

It also includes a previously announced 4.5 percent increase to $43,115 in the standard total for undergraduate tuition, fees, room and board. Approximately $58 million of institutional support, almost entirely for need-based aid, will be provided next year to Duke students, a 5.8 percent increase over the amount in the current budget.

The new budget continues to support the university's policy of admitting U.S. citizens, permanent residents and a limited number of foreign students based on their academic accomplishments and potential without regard to their ability to pay, and of then meeting all of their demonstrated financial need. Only about two dozen private institutions in the nation maintain "need-blind" policies for admissions and financial aid.

Approximately 45 percent of undergraduates receive financial support to attend Duke; about 40 percent receive need-based aid. The annual average need-based grant to a financial aid recipient for the 2006-07 academic year is projected to be more than $24,000. Duke also offers a small number of endowed merit scholarships, and its graduate and professional schools also provide substantial financial aid.

Income from tuition and fees from all schools will account for nearly 40 percent, or $446.7 million, of the non-sponsored revenues generated by Duke's eight schools and TrinityCollege. An additional $699.8 million in revenue is projected to come from indirect cost recoveries on grants, gifts, investment income and other sources. Indirect cost recoveries generated on grants and contracts, which essentially cover the costs of providing the infrastructure to support research, are expected to grow 7 percent next year. Much of the growth is related to a large award to the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology.

On the expense side of the budget, non-payroll operating and administrative expenses are projected to increase by $51.1 million, mainly to cover the operating costs of several new buildings. Salary and benefits will increase by $42.6 million, or 6.6 percent, over the current year's budget. This includes new faculty and staff investments associated with an increase in the number of engineering students and with the NursingSchool's new Ph.D. program and Global and Community Health Initiative, as well as an expansion of the internal audit and financial services departments.

The budget continues to support academic priorities as developed through Duke's strategic planning such as faculty support and development; strengthening academic, interdisciplinary and research initiatives both within and across the schools; significant new curricular and student life undertakings; and other academic support and community initiatives, such as the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership.

"This budget reflects the university's evolving values and priorities, including those emerging from our new strategic planning process now drawing to a conclusion. It also keeps the door open for outstanding undergraduates regardless of their ability to pay, and strengthening our faculty and programs," said Provost Peter Lange, the university's top academic official. "Looking ahead, we also are interested in supporting efforts that enable us to continue to hire and retain the most exciting faculty and to engage students both in the classroom and in research, community service and similar activities that bridge the classroom and the larger world. We'll also be focusing on the arts, global health and other fields that President Brodhead, the senior leadership and our faculty planning committees have identified."

Executive Vice President Tallman Trask III noted that his financial planners worked closely with the provost's office to align the institution's resources and priorities. "This budget does a good job of containing administrative costs while promoting our academic and strategic objectives as a university," Trask said.