By Kate Augusto and Anne Baker
Following previous announcements that the university would reexamine its spending, Northeastern officials confirmed yesterday that plans to build a new residence hall have halted.
Plans for the building were announced two months ago.
“In the current economic climate, all institutions are re-evaluating upcoming capital projects,” Vice President for Marketing and Communications Mike Armini said in a statement. “Here at Northeastern, we are planning to delay construction of a proposed dormitory, known as Building K, while we continue to assess the uncertainty in national and global financial markets.”
President Joseph Aoun addressed the effect of the financial crisis in a myNEU bulletin Monday, and said he had worked with various members of the university to make “some valuable savings, particularly by taking a hard look at renovations projects, travel, events and operating budgets among others.”
“Fiscal prudence also dictates that we look carefully at administrative hiring, operating costs and future projects in order to reduce further expenditures or delay new spending,” he said, adding “We continue to explore new revenue sources through innovative academic programs and strategic partnerships.”
In a previous bulletin in October, Aoun said he and other members of the university would look to make cuts, placing emphasis on lightening the financial concerns of students and their families.
“Our goal is simple – to ensure that Northeastern is stronger after this challenge has passed,” Aoun said in the bulletin.
At the annual State of the University address on Oct. 15, Aoun said that while the university would start to examine spending, it was far from making drastic changes.
“You heard about other institutions, you heard about [how] some of them are starting layoffs, a [spending] freeze, et cetera. We are not there,” he said in the address. “As of today, we are not planning any of these drastic measures.”
University financiers have also refinanced the school’s debt and have worked to ensure a sufficient cash flow for Northeastern to meet both its short and long-term goals, as reported in the Oct. 16 issue of The News.
Northeastern is not the only university affected by the crisis: both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have announced re-evaluating spending cuts.
Armini said cuts would be part of an ongoing process to ensure the university’s solvency.
“We’re continuing to undertake a review of expenses around campus,” he said. “It’s not an across the board approach, it’s being done department by department.”
Armini said he could not comment on a specific amount the university seeks to save or any future plans for cuts.
Armini said in an interview with The News the decision to halt Building K’s construction was not prompted by community concern about the proposed project.
“[This] decision [is] being driven by the global financial situation, which is affecting all institutions,” he said.
Building K was scheduled to open Fall 2011 in the space now occupied by Cullinane Hall on the east side of campus, as reported in the Sept. 22 issue of The News. The building was intended to house 600 students and act as the “first step” in building East Village, said Clifford Gayley, associate principal for design of William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc., which designed the hall.
