Tough times at Harvard University

The public perception of 373-year-old Harvard University declined significantly, according to a research firm. The standing of "public Ivies" has increased. Hard economic times are cited as a reason for the shifts in media representations.

A recent study indicates "Tough economic times have hurt Harvard University's public standing in the media over the past nine months, while schools perceived as a safer educational investment have benefited" reports Reuters. Global Language Monitor, which ranks colleges and universities based on their appearances in print and other media, found that Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Harvard University declined 20 percent in media representations. Harvard, ranked number one the past three years, fell behind University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Improving their standing are state-run "public Ivies" and technical schools. "Public Ivies" rising in the ranks include the University of California-Berkeley and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Paul Payack, president and chief word analyst at the Global Language Monitor, is quoted as saying:

Sometimes events do impact your name and our analysis seems to be that since Harvard fell that much, it appears tied to the economic restructuring, It also appears to be that it hit Harvard harder than other universities because of the news stemming from it.

What has been in the news, in terms of Harvard University, is the declining value of its endowment, staff lay-offs, and a halt in campus expansion. Reuters reports that Harvard's "endowment fell 27.3 percent, or $11 billion, to $26 billion in the year ending on June 30." Other findings in Global Language Monitor's third published rankings were: *Yale University fell to 11th from 9th *Columbian University fell to 4th from 2nd *University of Chicago fell to 5th from 3rd "Global Language Monitor ranks the top 200 colleges and universities according to their appearances in the global print and electronic media, the Internet, blogs and social media" according to Reuters. Moreover, the results presented are "based on three media snapshots taken in December, June and this month."