Johnston Gate at Harvard. Photo: Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Harvard University's budget surplus shrank to $45 million, one-eighth of its size the last fiscal year and far smaller than the prior year's surplus.
Yes, but: Harvard avoided total calamity in large part because of its endowment, according to the latest annual financial report.
That's despite a turbulent year in which a president was ousted, protests erupted over the Israel-Hamas War and donors withdrew support.
Harvard reported 9.6% investment gains on its endowment, which surpassed $53 billion ($2.5 billion higher than the prior fiscal year).
Both revenue and expenses increased.
Zoom out: Harvard's endowment grew more slowly than the endowments at Columbia (11.5%) and Brown (11.3%) universities this year, per the Boston Business Journal.
But the growth rate marked an improvement from last year's 2.9% rate.
