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session's panel included Gail Naughton, dean of San Diego State University's College of Business Administration in California; Mark Zupan, dean of the University of Roches- ter's Simon Graduate School of Business in New York; and Andy Policano, dean of the Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine. The panelists emphasized that business schools that continue their campaigns, keep up their marketing and public relations activities, and increase the nonmonetary involvement of alumni and donors will be positioned well when the downturn reverses. Many schools are creating multidimensional approaches Survival Tactics n August 2008, Advancing Higher Edu- cation published "Man- aging Higher Education in Uncertain Economic Times," a summary of a prescient May 2008 symposium where senior academic administrators discussed the financial challenges facing col- leges and universities. The article notes that, I in an effort to reduce the cost of education, some schools are experiment- ing with individualized on-demand support and interactive instructional materials, while increas- ing the level of support available to students. Others are re-engineer- ing business processes with new technology, reducing staffing needs, outsourcing business services, and even con- sidering renting out their facilities when classes are not being held. Such efforts will 42 make schools stronger after this recession than they were before, says Paul Yakoboski, princi- pal research fellow of TIAA-CREF Institute and editor of Advancing Higher Education. The economic climate has given schools a "sense of urgency," says Yako- boski. "Crises can result in institutions making very large, creative changes in very short periods of time." Take, for example, Tulane University's Free- man School of Business in New Orleans, which may have been better prepared for the eco- nomic crisis than most schools. In August 2005, after Hurricane Katrina struck, the school was forced to streamline its courses, reorganize its operations, and rede- sign its MBA program to pull through the massive disruption caused by the BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2009 to attract donors and get them excited about their programs. That might mean asking donors to support major initiatives or faculty chairs on a yearly basis, rather than through lump sums, says Policano. The Merage School also has created a tiered gift approach—or "donor pyramid"—for alumni, executives, and corporations, which lets them start at small sums and donate larger amounts over several years. At the Simon Graduate School of Business, events on financial topics that used to attract only 50 or 60 alumni are now attracting hundreds, says Zupan. The media also has been calling on the expertise of Simon's faculty more fre- hurricane. In essence, says its dean, Angelo DeNisi, the school already went through the worst. It adapted—and survived. Today, with Tulane's endowment down more than 20 percent, the school is taking advan- tage of efficiencies it put in place in 2005. "Even though raises have been minimal, we haven't had any layoffs or furloughs. We still have budgets for traveling and research," says DeNisi. "Things are going fairly well." Indiana University in Bloomington recently announced that it would slash its budget by $4.9 million this year—a reac- tion to a reduction of its funds from the state of Indiana. But because IU operates under a system of "responsibility- centered management," IU's Kelley School of Business has the free- dom to generate its own revenue, subtract its costs, pay the univer- sity back for taxes, and keep what's left. "Most schools operating under that model should do reasonably well dur- ing the recession," says dean Dan Smith. Smith plans mod- est changes for the 2009–2010 year. Raises will drop from 4 percent to 1 percent, and most budgets will remain flat. The 40-page color magazine that usually goes to alumni twice a year will be mailed once and posted once online. "That will save $100,000 right away," says Smith. ROB DAY/GETTY IMAGES