INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 137, No. 19
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020
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12 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Socially-Distanced Study
Celebrating an Alumna
New Blood
Heavy Showers
Students weigh in on their favorite study spaces in light of COVID-19 safety regulations. | Page 5
Inside Cornell’s celebration of Toni Morrison’s M.A. ’55 The Bluest Eye.
Cornell women’s hockey formally welcomed seven new freshmen.
| Page 11
| Page 12
Endowment Disappoints
HIGH: 74º LOW: 46º
Day three
In year marked by turmoil, Cornell University announces 1.9% return, lowest in the Ivy League By JOHNATHAN STIMPSON Sun Managing Editor
When the coronavirus prompted nationwide shutdowns in March, the stock market plummeted by over 13 percent in just one day. Fueled by concerns America’s economy would enter a depression, experts widely expected that investment funds, such as Cornell’s multi-billion-dollar endowment, could take a major hit. Those concerns, however, largely did not materialize — with a dramatic, months-long rebound in equities helping to push Cornell’s annual results into the black. From July 2019 to the end of June, the endowment posted a 1.9 percent annual return, according to a University press release. While the endowment’s investments generated a positive return, its total assets fell from $7.3 billion last year to $7.2 billion, likely owing to money distributed to help fund the University’s operations. According to Cornell’s Chief Investment Officer, Kenneth Miranda, the performance mostly met expectations, allowing the University to manage “the crisis while meeting payout requirements and maintaining a long-term orientation.” But although the pandemic has led to historic job losses and permanent business closures, most markets have proved to be unexpectedly resilient.
“The fiscal year-end returns across markets belied the extreme levels of pricing volatility seen during the year.” Kenneth Miranda The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both reached all-time highs in the last few months, while low interest rates have propelled the housing market to unprecedented heights. All told, as Miranda put, “the fiscal year-end returns across markets belied the extreme levels of pricing volatility seen during the year.”
Even so, while Cornell’s just-positive results beat early spring’s most dire projections, they trail those of the entire Ivy League, except for Princeton University, which has not yet reported its performance. Beyond its seven rivals, dozens of its peers proved much more successful in taking advantage of the financial turnaround. For them, the unpredictable coronavirus economy decisively proved to be more blessing than “Making further curse. H a r v a r d progress at an accelerating U n i v e r s i t y pace is the main priority for posted a 7.3 the year ahead.” percent return, beating its preKenneth Miranda vious year’s performance. Columbia’s endowment returned 5.5 percent to total $11.2 billion, and Dartmouth’s returned 7.6 percent to total $6 billion. Yale’s returned 6.8 percent for the fiscal year, ending with $31.2 billion in assets. In fact, data compiled by trade publication Pensions and Investments reveals that — of 26 major endowments that have so far reported 2020 results — Cornell’s annual return was worse than all but six. The results represent another year of middling returns for the University, whose investment performance has, in the past, often lagged behind peers. The management of Cornell’s investments has seen significant changes since 2016, when Miranda, who previously served as the International Monetary Fund’s Chief Investment Officer, took charge of the endowment after the fund experienced a long period marred by turmoil and turnover. From 2005 to Miranda’s current tenure, Cornell’s endowment cycled through six investment chiefs amid a time of noticeable investment underperforSee ENDOWMENT page 3
Rhapsody in orange
LEV KATRECZKO / SUN CONTRIBUTOR
Orange and red leaves mark in earnest the beginning of fall, as students try to take advantage of the last few remaining days of warmth and sunlight before winter arrives.
ANNA MONEYMAKER / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Judge Amy Comey Barrett, nominated to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54, testifies during her third day of Senate confirmation hearings yesterday.
Student Struck by Car at NYC Protest By SEAN O’CONNELL Sun News Editor
I turned around, looking [out] for my dad’s safety.” Eng was immediately sent to the hospital, and was not released until 12:30 a.m. on Monday. Her father was unhurt. She now faces six weeks of physical therapy for her back and neck injuries, as well as a boot for the next three weeks for her right foot. Eng was grateful for the relatively minor nature of
Allison Eng ’23 was riding her bike down 5th Ave. in New York City as a part of a Black Lives Matter protest on Oct. 3 when she was struck by a car, destroying her bicycle and throwing her into the pavement. Five x-rays, one CAT scan and half a day later, Eng found herself dealing with a sprained “A few minutes later, right foot, neck soreness and a when we were a few blocks down, few pulled muswe could hear screeching on the cles — she had gotten off easy. road and I turned around.” Eng, who is Allison Eng ’23 currently taking a gap year, is no stranger to bike protests — New her injuries, despite the discomYorkers biking together, chant- fort she feels. ing slogans and making noise in Eng shared her experience the main thoroughfares of the in an Instagram post, which city — and would often go with was widely shared and received her father on Saturday after- 1,998 likes in the span of a week. noons to participate. Two days later, the driver “We were just riding down of the car that struck her was the street and then on the side arrested by the NYPD. This was of the road there was a car that bittersweet for Eng, who found wanted to enter the road,” Eng out that he was released from told The Sun in an interview. “A custody with no bail. few minutes later, when we were “Tuesday night, the driver a few blocks down, we could hear screeching on the road and See PROTEST page 4