CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) – Harvard University said Friday it will cut about a quarter of staff – or about 50 jobs – from the company that manages its endowment after the fund’s value tumbled $8 billion in four months.

The estimated 22 percent decline, by far the largest in higher education, was the sharpest drop in the endowment’s history. The fund was valued June 30 at $36.9 billion before falling to $28.7 billion by October.

The layoffs, which will come over the next several months, will include investment professionals, as well as employees in operations and human resources and its technical and legal departments, Longbrake said.