Dear Alumni, Friends, and Parents,

The 2007-2008 fiscal year was very interesting for Wabash College. On one hand, we enjoyed enrollment in excess of 900 students and a financial aid discount rate that was less than projected; our Annual Fund exceeded $3 million for the first time in history; and we invested significant dollars in capital projects.

On the other hand, we experienced a very difficult financial market, but the good news is that our endowment out-performed its benchmark for the year. Overall, even in a down market, Wabash College remains financially strong. The financial highlights for the year ended June 30, 2008 are as follows. (Please see financial statement at the end of this letter.)

Tuition revenues for the year totaled in excess of $23.1 million. To help our students afford the cost of education, they received over $14.8 million in financial aid. Much of this aid was subsidized from outside sources, including endowed scholarships ($2.94 million), restricted gifts ($.34 million), federal and state governments ($2.02 million), and other outside sources ($.82 million). With these subsidies for our students, the net tuition discount rate was approximately 36 percent, a two percent decrease from the previous year.

The endowment value at June 30, 2008 was in excess of $367 million, including all Funds Held in Trust by Others. This was a decrease of approximately $46 million or 11 percent after distributions to operations. The endowment benefited from $2.46 million in new gifts during the year. Even with the decline in the market value, the endowment contributed over $16.2 million of support for the operations of the College and $2.94 million for endowed student scholarships.

Total gifting to the College was in excess of $7.09 million. The Annual Fund contributed in excess of $3.098 million of the gifting revenue, an increase of over $300,000. Given that student revenues covered slightly more than 40 percent of the total operating costs, the Annual Fund is an important source of support for the men of Wabash.

It was another normal year for construction on the Wabash campus. During the 2007-08 year, the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house was completed; renovations in the Delta Tau Delta house were completed; and the Kappa Sigma house was razed and construction on a brand new structure was started. In addition to the fraternity projects, a new facility to house the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion was constructed and dedicated on the site where Kingery Hall once stood. Plans are also being completed for renovations to the outdoor athletic facilities on the campus.

If you put all of these projects into a year that included a Strategic Planning process, as well as a Master Planning process, you can see that many of us have had a busy, yet enjoyable year. This work is made all the more meaningful by the men of Wabash who continue to show their love and passion for their education, their lives outside the classroom, and their alma mater. Thank you for your continued support of these young men.

Sincerely,

Larry B. Griffith
Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
 

Financial Statement