IU plans to ask the Board of Trustees for permission to borrow $1 billion during its Friday board meeting in case of a budget deficit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
IU spokesperson Chuck Carney said the $1 billion credit would give the university flexibility to make up for a shortfall of income. Carney said IU canceling on campus events through July 31 will affect its income.
“This is purely a contingency plan,” Carney said. “As of right now, we certainly don’t plan on using that, but we want to have access to that if we need.”
Carney said the university asked for $1 billion specifically because it would allow for IU to have enough credit to cover everything they may need.
“In looking out past summer, we have to look at all potential scenarios,” Carney said.
IU also plans to approve two new degrees during the meeting: a master’s degree in Food Science for IU-Bloomington and an Education Specialist in Educational Leadership degree for IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, IU-South Bend and IU-Southeast.
The meeting will occur virtually at 1 p.m. Friday and will be broadcast at broadcast.iu.edu.
