[chrisk]

I don't think that athletics money can cross to the other side of the house...I don't even think bookstore purchases (merch, textbooks, etc) can go toward academic operations/expenditures, can it?  Even if the AD were to become financially independent of the university, I don't know if that's enough to make up for the shortfall.

Some philanthropically inclined might be persuaded to donate to the Medical School rather than the AD. They might need to push for current gifts rather than endowed gifts to help cover the brobdingnagian whole in the short-term. The endowment may be more liquid than it was in 2008, when Stanford had to borrow, but this is potentially a bigger whole.
This crisis has pushed the priority of the AD down. It is not inconceivable that an interim director who had not yet been named could be in place for a while. The AD position may be endowed but it may not be endowed to the extent that would cover the salary of a top-notch AD.

[chrisk]

I don't think that athletics money can cross to the other side of the house...I don't even think bookstore purchases (merch, textbooks, etc) can go toward academic operations/expenditures, can it?  Even if the AD were to become financially independent of the university, I don't know if that's enough to make up for the shortfall.

Some philanthropically inclined might be persuaded to donate to the Medical School rather than the AD. They might need to push for current gifts rather than endowed gifts to help cover the brobdingnagian whole in the short-term. The endowment may be more liquid than it was in 2008, when Stanford had to borrow, but this is potentially a bigger whole.
This crisis has pushed the priority of the AD down. It is not inconceivable that an interim director who had not yet been named could be in place for a while. The AD position may be endowed but it may not be endowed to the extent that would cover the salary of a top-notch AD.