Jeffrey MervisScience’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center.This spring, as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered U.S.
higher education, many college presidents began to warn of the dire financial impact of a frozen U.S. economy on their institutions.Their mix of revenue sources largely determined how much they might be hurt.
Universities that operate their own hospitals issued the shrillest warnings—with some forecasting losses of a half-billion dollars and more from the temporary suspension of elective surgeries and the added cost of treating COVID-19 patients.