Harvard University, the world’s richest educational institution, is making big budget cuts because of the economic downturn, university officials said.

While the university has a large endowment, the recent decline in value has been the biggest in its history, they said.

Harvard depends more than most other U.S. universities on endowment income for operating expenses.

Its endowment, standing at 36.9 billion U.S. dollars as of last June, is expected to drop by 30 percent by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the university, like many institutions and individuals during the boom years, borrowed too much for new buildings, and now those debts are coming due.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet