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���㽶��Ƶ’s budget shortfall for fiscal year 2020 was substantially less than initially projected, closing with a $36 million loss rather than the $50 million gap that institutional leaders had projected in March,  said during Wednesday’s  webcast, a live discussion about ���㽶��Ƶ’s operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Calling the deficit “still substantial, but one-third less than we had projected when we first met,” Helble said that philanthropy, better-than-expected performance of the financial markets, and steps the community took to reduce non-compensation expenses had made a tremendous difference.

Speaking from the Starr Studio in ���㽶��Ƶ Library’s Baker-Berry Library, Helble said that because of all these factors, “We were able to bring fiscal year ’20 to a successful close.”

The picture for the 2021 fiscal year, which began July 1, also looks much better than it did, Helble said. Initial projections showed a potential $100 million shortfall for a budget of about $1.1 billion, but salary and hiring freezes, the recently announced early-retirement program, further non-compensation spending reductions, and use of a revenue stabilization reserve fund established by President Philip J. Hanlon ’77 early in his tenure have come close to balancing the budget.

To close the gap further, Helble said that division leaders this week received revised budget targets for the year, and in the coming weeks there will be opportunities “to engage individuals from all divisions across campus in some creative cross-institutional thinking to seek more efficient ways to accomplish our work.”

That said, ���㽶��Ƶ will not extend its commitment to pay all salaries beyond the previously announced date of July 31. Helble acknowledged that some jobs may be cut on a division-by-division basis—although leavi