Brite Divinity School should be commended for showing restraint during the economic downturn.

Brite President D. Newell Williams told the Skiff that the school is holding off on beginning construction of a new academic building because the school is still about $4 million short of its financial goal. The divinity school is not only budgeting for the building’s construction but also looking ahead and planning maintenance.

It is not uncommon to drive through an urban area and pass by an abandoned construction site. Just down South University Drive sits the desolated framework of a commercial real estate development. According to the developer, construction was temporarily halted because of the recession.

Even though Brite students and faculty would certainly welcome additional space and facilities, green lighting construction now and expecting to raise the funds later would be fiscally irresponsible, especially considering the country’s financial woes.

Brite’s reserve must be emulated. While administrators may have tolerated some risk in more prosperous times, the current economic landscape warrants utmost prudence.

Editor-in-chief Julieta Chiquillo for the editorial board.