Next month, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the forty-fourth president of the United States. The world holds its breath, hoping that Obama’s team of the best and brightest, like D.C. Comics’ Justice League of America, will save the day. If we lived in the best of all possible worlds, Obama will solve the financial crisis, resolve all conflicts in the Middle East, and restore this country’s reputation in the world. In addition, he may slay another fearsome beast— the rising costs of higher education.

Cornell, like other universities across the country, is being forced to adapt to the recent economic crisis. In response, the administration has instituted a 90-day construction pause and a non-professional hiring freeze to limit expenses. But despite the conserve-and-cut mentality that has gripped students and universities alike in the wake of the economic meltdown, university presidents across the country are earning more than ever.

This is the second part of a series delving deeper into the economic crisis and its effects on higher education, particularly at Cornell.

Despite having an “all-weather portfolio,” Cornell’s $6 billion endowment is not immune from the financial storm that is sweeping across the nation.

The endowment acts as a stable source of funds for the University, and nearly all of the money is invested long term. Cornell’s endowment makes up about 11 percent of the University’s revenue.

If you’re like me and you will be ending your time at Cornell in May, you must lie in bed at night thinking “It’s a helluva time to be graduating!”

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last several months, you’ve noticed that the job market for recent college graduates is, in a word — pitiful. Jobs are scarce and companies are coming to interview at Cornell to merely save face. To make matters worse, they send a follow up, token e-mail of “We were impressed by you, but frankly, we’re just not hiring this year.”

And if you’re one of the lucky few that does have a job offer, the thought of your firm rescinding your offer to save a few bucks has surely crossed your mind. After all, you probably have an “employment-at-will” contract.

Back in 1980, every kid wanted the Atari 2600, retail price $199, or approximately a Playstation 3 in today’s dollars. Instead, under the tree, they got a shoe tree, so 1979’s sneakers could last longer. Similarly, this holiday season is not looking very good. With consumer spending at its lowest point since the recession of 1980 (according to the New York Times, in 1980 Americans had “the sort of Christmas that would have made Scrooge merry”), spoiled children around the country will think they are on the naughty list this year.

Excitement is slowly starting to build in anticipation of the holidays, but at Wegmans, that time of year seems to have already arrived. Last week, Wegmans issued a statement on their website saying, “Wegmans is lowering prices — just in time for the holidays!”

Danny and Colleen Wegman, the two owners of the grocery store chain wrote in a letter that because of anticipated cost decreases, the company had decided to bring the prices down as soon as they could. The CEO and President of Wegmans, Danny Wegman said, “It’s ok with us if we make a little less money.”

Jo Natale, director of media relations for Wegmans, explained some of the reasons for the price decreases.

According to Robert Massa of Dickson College, “What we’ve done in higher education is let our dreams and aspirations dictate our cost structure.” Due to the financial crisis, this prodigal era of “dreams and aspirations” may finally be over.

This past Tuesday, Cornell implemented a hiring pause, a delay on new construction, and other cost-saving measures. The contract colleges are especially hard hit. According to a dean in the ILR School, administrators — rather than tenured faculty — may have to teach some classes, while existing faculty may be allotted fewer teaching assistants.

In the midst of a national financial crisis, college students must face the additional burden of increased tuition costs. Tuition for the current academic year for private institutions increased by 5.9 percent and by 6.4 percent for in-state public colleges, according to College Board’s most recent pricing report. The inflation rate for the same period was less, at 5.6 percent.

Though average tuition outpaced inflation for another year, most colleges decided not to increase tuition relative to inflation as much as in past years, acting “socially responsible,” according to Prof. Ronald Ehrenberg, industrial and labor relations and economics.

Yesterday afternoon, President David Skorton spoke to faculty, staff and students in Bailey Hall about the effect of the current economic crisis on the University.

“After looking at the situation, I still can not be exactly sure of what the downturn in the economy is going to do to Cornell,” he said. Still, he stressed that “we need to approach this calmly.”Looking ahead: President David Skorton speaks about C.U.’s response to financial troubles and fielded questions from the audience.