Financial Overview
John F. Affleck-Graves
Executive Vice President
"Notre Dame is positioned to advance boldly into the future because our tradition of fiscal prudence has created a solid foundation." —JOHN F. AFFLECK-GRAVES
Executive Vice President
Now that we can finally see a bright horizon emerge from the dark clouds of economic uncertainty, Notre Dame is positioned to advance boldly into the future because our tradition of fiscal prudence has created a solid foundation. The University has continued to build new facilities and renovate older ones, to hire professors to undertake life-enhancing research and teach the next generation of students, and to carve out a distinctive niche at the crossroads of faith and reason.
Notre Dame’s generous benefactors continued to support our priorities with another banner year in 2013. Total gifts increased by a phenomenal 71 percent over the previous year, reaching a record total of $387.3 million. The total includes a record $38.5 million in unrestricted giving, which allows us to respond to emerging needs and opportunities. This revenue has been instrumental in areas ranging from undergraduate research and study abroad to spiritual formation and service projects.
The University’s research enterprise also continues to expand. Research expenses have increased 57 percent over the last five fiscal years. Our growing tradition of excellence in research moves the University closer to our goal of serving the common good worldwide as a pre-eminent Catholic research university. Given this unprecedented growth in giving and research, the steady demand for a Notre Dame education is not surprising.
The Office of Undergraduate Enrollment saw fall 2013 applications increase 4 percent to 17,647, a record number for the University. The yield rate, or the percent of admits that enroll, of this latest class is among the top 10 in the nation for private research universities, allowing us to be more selective and successful in enrolling students with the highest abilities. The median SAT of 1440 and ACT of 33 for the first-year class is the highest in Notre Dame’s history. In fact, 89 percent graduated high school in the top 10 percent of their class, with 51 percent in the top 2 percent of their class. And, at 30 percent, the last two classes are more culturally diverse than ever.
This success in both the academic quality and diversity of our students is due in large part to a personalized admissions process, stronger visitation programs, and increases in financial aid services. In 1999, we began to meet the full demonstrated need of undergraduate students, and in 2013, we anticipate funding $115 million in need-based financial aid.
The unwavering belief in our mission, expressed by Father Jenkins in his letter at the beginning of this report, combined with our tradition of conservative fiscal management, give us confidence that the University will continue to flourish despite some challenges in the field of higher education. We are determined to continue careful stewardship of our resources so that we can carry on our mission to be a powerful source for good in the world.