Cornell’s endowment remained flat in the first quarter of the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, despite significant declines in the stock market over the same period. At the same time, the University announced it would refinance its debt to mitigate concerns about the market’s volatility.

Although The Hangovers missed the SAFC reimbursement deadline, Resolution 56 granted the a cappella group $5,500 for unpaid debt.

The University sold $285 million in debt in May to help finance a new medical research facility at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, increasing Cornell’s total outstanding debt to $1.96 billion –– nearly double what it was two years ago.

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Cornell's total outstanding debt is increasing to $1.96 billion –– nearly double what it was two years ago.

When the University decided that it would take on $500 million in debt to raise liquidity on March 6, Cornell’s financial officers went to work picking a date during which the bonds would fetch the best interest rate in this dramatically fluctuating market. The coupon rate, or rate of interest on which the bonds sell, depends heavily upon events like release of jobless rates, corporate earnings reports, other assets being sold that day and religious holidays, according to Joanne DeStefano, vice president of finance.

The University successfully sold $500 million in debt last week, as Cornell maintained its credit rating on one index but slipped a notch on another.

Investors fully subscribed to Cornell’s bond offerings in under 30 minutes last Thursday, according to Tommy Bruce, vice president of University Communications.

The bond offering was divided evenly between $250 million of 5-year bonds at a 4.35-percent interest rate and $250 million of 10-year at a 5.45-interest rate.

While the University has lines of credit and regularly sells-tax exempt bonds to finance construction, the sale of these taxable bonds are unusual. The magnitude of the offering is, in fact, unprecedented.

Following in the footsteps of Harvard, Princeton and Notre Dame, Cornell chose to sell $500 million of taxable bonds earlier this month in response to recent endowment losses.

In the face of a global financial crisis that has erased $29 trillion from the stock market in 2008, according to Bloomberg, the average university endowment has decreased by 24.1 percent across the U.S. in the past six months, according to the Stamford Advocate.

In December 2008, Harvard sold $2.5 billion in taxable bonds to repay borrowed funds. Princeton sold $1 billion in bonds in January, University of Pittsburgh plans to sell up to $421 million, Notre Dame already sold $150 million and University of Pennsylvania plans to sell $300 million, according to the Bond Buyer.