The University of Michigan released the 2022 Annual Report on Dec. 21, outlining the University’s research efforts, growing endowment and trends in undergraduate tuition over the past year. The report included messages from the University President Santa Ono, as well as reports from Geoffrey Chatas, the University’s chief financial officer, and Tom Baird, the vice president for development, about the University’s spending over the past year and how that will inform their financial strategy going forward.
In the president’s message, Ono discussed coming into his new role as president and his goals for research funding and sustainability. Ono took office in October and FY 2022 ended June 30, 2022, which is what the 2022 Annual Report reflects. Though his tenure thus far does not overlap with the contents of the report, Ono mentioned his commitment to ensuring the University continues to balance financial sustainability with a wide variety of academic opportunities in the years to come.
“What I’ve learned in my time since starting as president this fall is that behind these remarkable numbers and countless accolades are thousands of people — faculty, students, staff, alumni and so many others — who embody the commitment to excellence that keeps this institution performing at such a high level,” Ono wrote.
Ono highlighted the University’s research efforts in 2022 in the report including $1.7 billion in research expenditures, which brought $97 million of growth to Michigan’s economy over the past year. He also emphasized the University’s reputation as the top public research university in the U.S.
“This vast, broad enterprise powers medical breakthroughs, solutions to environmental challenges, advancements in technology and engineering, a better understanding of human behavior and so much more,” Ono wrote in the 2022 Annual Report.
The University’s endowment was valued at $17.3 billion as of June 30, 2022, marking an increase over last year’s endowment valued at $17 billion. Chatas noted in his report that this increase is in spite of the University’s pandemic spending and the $490 million the University used in the settlement fund for the over 1,000 victims of former University Athletic Doctor Robert Anderson.
“In addition, the increase in year-over-year operating expenses reflects costs associated with finalization of a settlement agreement between the university and claimants who alleged abuse by the late physician Robert Anderson,” Chatas wrote. “Operating expenses in FY 2022 also reflect the lifting of most pandemic-related spending restrictions, a rebound in campus activities and inflation.”
According to the report, for FY 2022, in-state undergraduate tuition increased by 1.4% for the Ann Arbor campus and 1.9% for the Dearborn campus, with no undergraduate tuition increases for the Flint campus. Out of state students saw tuition increase by 1.8% while graduate students’ tuition increased by 3%. To compensate for some of these increases, the University also included a 6.4% increase in financial aid for undergraduates on the Ann Arbor campuses and extended the Go Blue Guarantee to the Dearborn and Flint campuses.
Baird highlighted the $515 million in donations the University received in 2022, marking the first year in which cash gifts topped $500 million.
“We are especially pleased that 29 of U-M’s schools, colleges and units received gifts at or above FY 2021 totals,” Baird wrote. “Gifts to support students, such as scholarships, fellowships and student success programs, totaled a record-setting $233 million.”
As the University moves into 2023, the annual report referenced upcoming capital projects including the construction of the Leinweber Computer Science Building, the new Central Campus Recreation Building and undergraduate housing complexes on both North and Central Campus.
Daily Staff Reporter Matthew Shanbom can be reached at shanbom@umich.edu.