As students readied themselves for their first day of classes, members of the faculty gathered in the Cole Assembly Room for the first faculty meeting for the 2007-08 school year. Alongside speakers like President Anthony Marx, Treasurer Peter Shea helped start the year off on a positive note with his presentation of the Office of the Treasurer's preliminary report on the College's finances for 2006-07.

During the meeting, Shea announced that the College's endowment, already at an impressive $1.3 billion in 2005-06, had grown to $1.66 billion with returns at 27.8 percent. This achievement is made all the more impressive by the fact it represents the fifth consecutive year in which the endowment has grown.

According to published data from last year, Amherst had a higher endowment per student ratio, at $820,846 as of June 2006, than Williams. Williams has a $724,545 endowment per student at that date. The current year's performance of the endowment, according to Shea, should put the College at or close to $1 million per student as of June 2007 and maintain our position relative to Williams.

"A college's endowment per student is a key indicator of the overall financial strength of the institution," said Shea. "Amherst is very fortunate to have an Investment Committee of Trustees that has managed the endowment so skillfully over the years. The financial markets have turned quite volatile the past few months but our endowment is well positioned to maintain its value."

Shea also had good news regarding the overall operating budget; the resources and expenses for the school year balanced out, with a possible surplus of approximately $4,000.

The Office of the Treasurer expects that it will have the final financial report for 2007-08 ready before the end of 2007.