Annual Financial Reports
Even as it embraces its rich history and time-honored traditions, the University of Virginia is an institution that is constantly evolving and moving forward. Some change reflects the emergence of technologies, new methods of instruction, patient care, and new elements of its physical presence. Other changes reflect larger evolutions, as new students arrive on our Grounds with their own, unique life stories, viewpoints, and experiences, with the goal of developing the next generation of citizen leaders.
Fiscal Year 2022 brought the return of a sense of normalcy to the Grounds following more than a year of adaptation to the circumstances of the pandemic. Classes were held in-person, with very few exceptions. Many employees returned to their on-Grounds workplaces after an extended remote period, with some opting for new hybrid work arrangements. Faculty, staff, and students applied lessons of the pandemic to enhance their work, using technologies that were a necessity in 2020 and now presented opportunities for flexibility, inclusion, and broader engagement. Student and University activities resumed, and the UVA community experienced a renewed sense of appreciation for the ability to spend time together in person.
As Fiscal Year 2021 began, managing the University’s response to the pandemic was a critical focus of our daily lives while we sustained 24/7 academic and healthcare operations to support the University’s mission. Throughout the year, cross-functional teams collaborated to ensure that teaching, research, and healthcare activities could proceed, with adjustments necessary to prevent the spread of the virus at both UVA and in the surrounding community. We continue to be nimble and flexible to mitigate the spread of the virus, but our operations are noticeably different as I write this fall. As a result of everyone’s efforts at UVA and in the larger community, fall 2021 has been rejuvenating as we welcomed back our students, faculty, and staff.
When Fiscal Year 2020 started on July 1, 2019, few of us could imagine the challenge the University, the nation, and the world would encounter later that year. Midway through the spring 2020 semester, the University faced an unprecedented global coronavirus pandemic that disrupted many facets of our daily organization including the academic enterprise, the Medical Center, and the University’s operations. Recognizing that there was nohistorical experience to easily draw on, the team at UVA came together to partner in new ways, guided by three principles: maintain excellence in our core mission, support the most vulnerable, and be creative.
I was honored and privileged to join the University of Virginia as its fourth Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer on November 5, 2018. In the months since then, my respect and admiration for UVA has grown deeper as I am learning traditions and working closely with an incredible group of dedicated leaders who bring tremendous commitment to their work. We owe a debt of gratitude to our predecessors who created a strong financial foundation for the University to build upon as we plan for its future. Fiscal Year 2019 was a time of great transition at the University of Virginia. President Ryan took office on August 1, I joined his leadership team in early November, and Executive Vice President and Provost Liz Magill started in late spring. With each of these changes came new ideas about leading and managing the University. The leadership team shares a commitment to partnership and a deep sense of responsibility to steward our resources effectively and efficiently in support of the University’s academic, research, and service missions. Robert Durden completed his first full year as UVIMCO’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer during Fiscal Year 2019. Throughout these transitions, a continued focus on financial strength and stability enabled UVA to maintain its Triple A bond rating from all three major rating agencies for another year.
Fiscal year 2017-18 represents an important year of transition for the University of Virginia, with opportunities to reflect on the past, to make a difference in the present, and to honor the promise of the future at the beginning of the University’s third century. Once again, the University received recognition for providing a high quality educational experience at an excellent value. U.S. News & World Report most recently ranked UVA No. 3 in the nation for Best Public University and No. 2 for Best Value Public University. The Princeton Review rated UVA as the No. 1 Best-Value Public College. The University of Virginia consistently has been ranked near the top among all public universities and the top 25 of all universities in the nation since U.S. News began publishing its rankings more than three decades ago. We have held this position by, among other things, making strategic decisions to invest our resources to achieve and sustain educational excellence and to promote access and affordability for our students.
Fiscal year 2017 was another year of strong performance for the University of Virginia. Our financial and operational strength supports our mission of excellence in education, research, and patient care. The University has consistently earned a spot among the finest institutions in the country. Outstanding academic quality, affordability, excellent return-on-investment, and world-class patient care continue to be the hallmarks of the University of Virginia. U.S News & World Report most recently ranked UVA No. 3 in the nation for Best Public University and No. 2 for Best Value Public University. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranks UVA No. 2 for Best Value Among Public Institutions. These respected rankings are indicative of the quality of the University’s programs and our steadfast commitment to affordability. As of June 30, 2017, the University’s total assets were $11.2 billion.
Recent rankings recognize the University’s continued excellence and value throughout 2015-16. U.S. News & World Report ranked the University No. 2 best public national university; Kiplinger’s ranked us No. 3 best public college value; Money Magazine ranked us No. 3 best college value; and The Princeton Review put UVA at No. 7 among the Top 200 Colleges That Pay You Back. The University remains an excellent value for an excellent education. Additionally, the University has maintained its AAA bond rating since 2003 and is one of only four public institutions to earn top ratings from all three major rating agencies. UVA is now in a stronger nancial position than in its recent history with a growing endowment, a strong tradition of philanthropy, a diverse revenue base exceeding $2.5 billion annually, and increasingly efficient and effective operations. As of June 30, 2016, the University’s total assets were $10.5 billion.
Fiscal year 2014-15 represented another year of strong performance for the University. Through the careful stewardship of our resources over many years, UVA is widely known for its unique combination of academic excellence and financial strength. Innovative financial and operational management has enabled the University to make significant progress this year toward a number of goals called for in our academic and medical center strategic plans. The University initiated measures to capitalize on the strength of the balance sheet by completing a complex restructuring of our debt portfolio and we have developed a liquidity model that is designed to optimize investment opportunities while ensuring sufficient resources to address operational needs and strategic priorities. University leaders worked closely with the Board of Visitors Finance Subcommittee to develop Affordable Excellence, a multi-dimensional model that ensures access and affordability to an increasingly diverse student body while sustaining excellence across the Grounds. We continue to make progress on Organizational Excellence initiatives to increase quality, eliminate duplication, enhance effectiveness, and promote efficiency, entrepreneurialism, and innovation. The University of Virginia is positioned well to face future challenges and capitalize on opportunities, both those we know now and those that will emerge in the future.
The University experienced another strong year of performance in fiscal year 2013-14. Thanks to the skill and dedication of all of our people, we are better positioned than most universities to address the challenges facing public higher education. We have made significant strides in mobilizing the necessary resources to address the generational turnover of faculty and to pursue the strategic directions estab-lished in the Cornerstone Plan. We are focused on advancing the University’s distinctive qualities—an emphasis on close faculty-student interaction in an unparalleled setting, cutting-edge research, and affordable excellence—that continue to distinguish us in a highly competitive landscape and that enable us to deliver value to the citizens of the Commonwealth, the nation, and, increasingly, the world.
The fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, was one of transition, reassessment, and renewed energy at the University of Virginia. Among other accomplishments, we completed "Financing Academic Excellence," a framework for the University's long-term financial plan; set a course to restore faculty and staff compensation to more competitive levels; completed a successful bond refunding; and, importantly, positioned AccessUVa, our financial aid program, on a fiscally sustainable path for continued growth and excellence. In addition, the $3 billion Campaign for the University of Virginia concluded successfully, thanks to the generosity of many alumni, parents, and friends. We made substantial progress in developing a new internal financial model for the University and also reached a number of milestones in the Health System's strategic plan. Our overriding goal throughout these efforts has been to preserve the academic excellence and efficient management of resources that distinguish the University of Virginia.
This discussion and analysis provides an overview of the financial position and results of activities of the University of Virginia for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. Comparative information for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, has been provided where applicable. This discussion has been prepared by management and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the footnotes that follow this section.
The University of Virginia is an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is governed by the University's Board of Visitors. The Commonwealth prepares a separate financial report that incorporates all agencies, boards, commissions, and authorities over which the Commonwealth exercises or has the ability to exercise oversight authority. The University, consisting of three major divisions, is a component unit of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is included in the basic financial statements of the Commonwealth. The University of Virginia's three divisions are its Academic Division, Medical Center, and the College at Wise.
It is a critical time in our nation's history, where some are questioning the public value of University-based research, the cost of undergraduate degrees, and the outcomes of our investments in health care. The University of Virginia is not alone in facing financial challenges ahead. With the headwinds in the global and national economies and the political stalemate in Washington, we must expect pressure on the key revenue sources that support our mission. That said, the stakes are in many ways higher in a public institution because the public investment and all else is much more transparent and therefore more highly accountable, as it should be. The key for us is putting our best foot forward and making clear our record of serving the public with effective and efficient use of resources to deliver high-quality education, patient care, and research that leverages that investment with great returns to our society.
________________
Archive of President's Reports, which included the University's Annual Financial Report (1994-2010)