University assets are suffering under current economic conditions, but steep drops in the stock market are not affecting the University’s operational funds or its partnership with Wachovia, Kathy Hart, associate vice chancellor for finance and business, said.While long-term assets are subject to market volatility, Hart said they are unrelated to the funds the University uses to carry on daily business.  “The University’s operating dollars are all handled by the state treasurer of North Carolina, and those are of course being carefully monitored,” she said. “Those are the dollars that we pay the bills with and meet the payroll with and all of those kinds of things.”Some universities do have operational funds which may be at risk due tothe current financial crisis, Hart said, but N.C. State does not. Economics professor John Lapp said shares in Wachovia, the North Carolina – based bank NCSU has a partnership with, have lost about 90 percent of their value in the past year.And even though students have the ability to use their AllCampus ID cards as Wachovia debit cards, Hart said that there have been no problems with the University or students having access to Wachovia accounts. Wachovia’s losses, Hart said, have not negatively affected the University’s investment portfolio — corporate bonds, stocks and real estate — either.”If there was any stock owned in Wachovia, it would have been very minimal in our endowment dollars, but it  would not have had any significant impact,” Hart said.Endowment investments, however, are taking a hit.”Our endowment investments, which are invested for long-term opportunity, are certainly being impacted by the financial markets,” Hart said.  An endowment is a donation intended for investment so it can provide returns for years to come, lessening reliance on less predictable funding sources, according to the University’s Web site.Hart said the University often uses these endowments to pay for scholarships, and while it is premature to judge what impact the market losses may have, reduced availability of scholarship funds is a possibility.Adam Parsley, a senior in English, said although he isn’t too worried about the minor scholarship funding he receives, this could potentially become a problem later.”It would concern me for graduate school possibilities though,” Parsley said.Hart said while there is concern both with investments and the ability of the University to borrow money if necessary, “we are not in any crisis scenario.”Instability in the short-term is inevitable when dealing with financial investments, Lapp said, and portfolios have all lost value since the stock market fell.”This is just standard investment risk,” he said. “If you take the longer view, and the University ought to be taking a view that spans over several generations, financial assets provide attractive returns.”Lapp said the types of investments, which involve some risk, are needed in order to provide the returns that enable the University to grow.Donations have stagnated as a result of stock market volatility as well, Nevin Kessler, vice chancellor for advancement, said.  “We are seeing an impact on the willingness of some of our donors to pay their current pledges and in the willingness of donors to make new multi-year commitments,” he said. “This is a trend that those of us who have been in fundraising for a number of years have seen before.Kessler said as soon as the volatility ends, people will pick up pledges and making donations again.Parsley said part of the problem during this crisis is just knowledge of the situation.”There needs to be a little more awareness,” he said. “Most of the student body isn’t aware of the situation or how it will affect them.”