Iie dIidIgan &xilj Ann Arbor, Michigan Monday, December 8, 2008 michigandaily.com "U' endowment falls 20 to 30 percent S Economic downturn in investment value disappear in a matter of months. has caused billions The decline means the Univer- sity of Michigan's endowment, val- in losses for colleges ued at approximately $7.6 billion as of June 30, could have lost between By ANDY KROLL $1.52 billion and $2.28 billion in Daily News Editor value in a span of just over five months. The last time the endow- The University's endowment has ment reported an annual loss in lost an estimated 20 to 30 percent of investment returns was the 2002 its value since the start of the fiscal fiscal year, when the fund lost 6.59 year that began July 1, a University percent of its value. spokeswoman said Friday. For the 2007 fiscal year, the That makes the University of University's endowment ranked Michigan the latest in a string of eighth among all American uni- colleges to see billions of dollars versities and second among public universities in total value, accord- ing to data from the National Asso- ciation of College and University Business Officers. But the coun- try's economic downturn has hit most of these endowments hard in the last year. Harvard University President Drew Faust announced last week that the university's $36.9 billion endowment - the largest in the country - has lost 22 percent, or about $8 billion, since the end of the last fiscal year. And in November, the University of California sys- tem announced a $1 billion loss to its endowment in the four months since the end of the 2008 fiscal year. University of Michigan spokes- woman Kelly Cunningham said that although the endowment's estimated losses were similar to those seen at other colleges and universities, the effect of the losses on the endowment payout - or the percentage of the endowment that the University actually spends each year - would be less than other schools because the University's policy for determining the payout uses a rolling seven-year average market value for the endowment. See ENDOWMENT, Page 3A WALL STREET STRUGGLES HIT STATE STREET With the economy in recession, college investments have plunged in value. The Univer- sity's endowment is estimated to have lost up to $2.4 billion in the past five months. 40 30 20 10 0 Value estimated at between $5.32 and $6.05 billion. University of University o California Michigan system* anent P4 tN ear SOURCE: HARVARD UNIVERSITY,5UNIVERSITYOF CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT Democrats, executives draft aid plan Levin says proposal for $15 billion loan nearing agreement By THOMAS CHAN Daily StaffReporter Democrats on Capitol Hill worked overtime this weekend to draft a proposal to loan $15 billion to Detroit's automakers. Execu- tives told Congress last week that without the funds, there'd be bankruptcies in the industry by the end ofthe year. "I think they're very close to a deal, I'm very confident there will be a deal, and that will happen within 24 hours," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) on a Fox News program Sunday. CEOs of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Company and Chrysler LLC drovetoWashingtonlastweek to lobbyforabout $34 billionin fed- eral loans. GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler's Robert Nardellisaid their companies would soon be insolvent without the funds. In Thursday's and Friday's heatings, lawmakers pressed the Big Three executives on their plans to restructure their compa- nies. Many said they worried that that even after receiving a bailout, the automakers would ask for addi- tional funds in future months. The new package follows a concession on Friday from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who agreed to pull money cur- rently allocated to a $25 billion fund intended to help automak- ers build lower-emission vehicles. She originallywanted touse funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the $700 billion plan aimed at helping keep big banks from failing. Movement on the plan reached a standstill when Republicans refused to tap into See BAILOUT, Page 7A WHAT A RUSH! Football season's over, but this weekend was a boost for Michigan athletics. The basketball team showed its rebuilding efforts are paying off by beating No. 4 Duke at Crisler Arena. Meanwhile, the volleyball team staged two comebacks to advance to the Sweet Sixteen and the hockey team scored 11 goals en route to a sweep of archrival Michigan State.. For more, see SportsMonday, inside. (FROM TOP) MAX COLLNS/Daily, BRITNEY MCINTOSH/Kentucky Kernel, ZACHARY MEISNER/Daly (TOP) Michigan fans stormed the court after the Wolverines' 81-73 win over the Duke men's basket- ball team. (MIDDLE) The volleyball team celebrates its five-set upset of St. Louis in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (BOTTOM) The hockey team swept Michigan State this weekend. Students preview new Ross building Bu ne) By Nex Ross S the en just be cards. will h is inessSchool's classroomsanda brand new gym, all in the same building. w home to open On Saturday the Business School hosted a reception and next month preview of its new building. The building will officially open next BENJAMIN S. CHASE month, in time for the start of the Daily Staff Reporter 2009 winter semester. The 270,000-square-foot t semester students in the structure on the corner of Hill School of Business will be Street and Tappan Avenue was ivy of their peers, and not completed with the help of a $100 cause they getfree business million donation from New York- Business School students based real estate developer Ste- ave access to cutting-edge See BUSINESS SCHOOL, Page 3A IMPLE M EmNtToING PROPOSAL 1d Patients to wait months more for medical marijuana State hopes to have rules for pot permits in effect by April By ELAINE LAFAY Daily StaffReporter The Michigan Medical Marijua- na Act went into effect last week, but patients hoping to immediately take advantage of the new law will have to wait. Patients are more likely to see the effects of the legislation in April, said James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health. The act, which was passed as Proposal 1 or the Michigan ballot in November, allows patients to use, buy and grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. Dec. 4, the day the proposal was implemented, marked the beginning of a deliberation period regarding the law's enforcement. Legislators have 120 days to fine- tune the proposal's rules and regu- lations. Even a doctor's note won't be enough to protect patients if they try to use marijuana medicinally between now and then. Michigan residents will need signed documentation from a phy- sician before they can apply to the program that verifies they're suf- fering from one of the ailments out- lined in the act. After that, the Department of Community Health will have 15 days to accept or deny the request. If it chooses to accept the case, it will issue the patient an identifica- tion card. The department is drafting reg- ulations that will be available to the public online by Dec. 15. The regulations will address aspects of enforcement not specified in the act, like how marijuana will be disposed if the patient dies, cost of application to the program and explanations of legal terms in the proposal. McCurtis said the department will hold a public hearing about the regulations sometime in early to mid-January to hear opinions on how to best implement the act. The State Office of Administra- tive Hearings and Rules will then examine the proposed regulations. Once it signs off on the rules, they will go through the Legislative Ser- See MARIJUANA, Page 3A t', ' r; r ; Students wander the new Business School building during a preview Saturday afternoon. The facility, on the corner of Hill and Tappan, is 270,000 square feet. WEATHER HI: 35 TOMORROW LO: 27 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. ON THE DAILY BLOGS Zombies go Hollywood? THEFILTER.BLOGS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEW S..............................-2A ARTS.................................5A Vol CXIX, No. 66 SUDOKU.................3............3A CLASSIFIEDS.......h..............6A 02008The Michigan Daily OPINION .. ...... ........... PlB michiyandailycom4A S O SM N A .........1 i i