1. Taking Leadership on Responsible
Investment: Opportunities for
Colleges and Universities
Presented by Montgomery Norton and Tahiya Sultan
April 4, 2009

2. What is REC?
• A diverse coalition
of over 75 colleges
and universities
nationwide
• We support
students,
administrators,
trustees and alumni
to leverage $ 400
billion in economic
power!

3. • Why does it matter?
• History of RI
• Responsible investment practices
• What you can do
• Ways REC can support
• Case study: University of California
Topics Covered

4. Responsible Investing:
Why does it matter?
• The fastest way off of the picket line and
into the board room
• Leads to unbelievable victories in
corporate reform and community
development
• Brings some humanity back to capitalism
• Character, Trust, & Integrity
• Managing inclusion

5. Fiduciary
Responsibility
• "We have always known that heedless
self-interest was bad morals; we know
now that it is [also] bad economics.”
- FDR
• AIG CEO, Edward Liddy, testified
before the Congressional investigative
committee March 18, 2009 (Fiduciary
Responsibility to the Tax Payers)

6. Development of RI
• Vietnam War: funds screened for investment
• 1977-1985: 55 universities divest from Apartheid
South Africa
• 2000: Tobacco industry divestment
• March 16, 2006: UC divests from Sudan
• April 27, 2006: UN Principles for RI
• Jan 29, 2009: Social Investment Forum’s letter to
Obama (Office for Innovation in CSR)

7. Question
• President Bush signed legislation
allowing state and local governments to
cut investment ties with companies
doing business in Sudan.
– A. True
– B. False

8. Answer
• True. On December 28, 2007 Bush
signed the Sudan Accountability and
Divestment Act of 2007

9. Major Victories
• Fall of apartheid South Africa
• Home Depot stops selling old
growth timber
• Nike allows factory inspections
• McDonalds agrees to pesticide reduction
program
• Billions more dollars devoted to low-income
housing and microenterprise

10. Colleges and Universities:
The Next Frontier
• Mission-driven institutions
• Values most commonly cited
include:
–Ethical citizenship
–Support for the local
community
–Strength in diversity
WHERE IS YOUR SCHOOL INVESTED?

11. Examples of colleges
and universities
• Bard College uses a resolution to get
pesticide reduction program at
McDonalds
• Swarthmore College got Lockheed
Martin and FedEx to start giving
domestic partner benefits
• Duke University put millions in a
community investment fund

12. …its not just hippie
colleges
• 16 out of the top 20 US news and world
report ranked schools have committees
on investor responsibility, including
Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Amherst, etc.
• Public schools are typically behind
• Great way to secure school’s finances,
social reputation and improve alumni
donations!

13. Question
• Student Regents and Trustees can’t or
shouldn’t get involved in activist or
student organizing campaigns such as
Responsible Investment.
– A. Agree
– B. Disagree

14. UC Case Study
• Humble beginnings
• Collaborative resources
• UC Sustainability as a model
• Challenges of the UC 10 campus
system

15. What is responsible
investment?
• Passive Strategies
– Initiating corporate dialogue
– Filing and voting on shareholder resolutions
(proxy voting)
 Active Strategies
 Screened Funds
 Proactive Investment
 Divestment

16. How do we start?
• Educate students, alumni, administrators and
trustees about responsible investment
• Work for more transparency of endowment and
investment strategies
• Work to establish a Committee on Investor
Responsibility
• Link up with other colleges and universities
• As individuals—look at your own accounts!

17. How REC can help
• Researching the endowment
• Sample policies at other universities
• Connections to other universities and
social/environmental justice groups
• Alumni Network
• Student organizer programs
• Come to a conference—Oct 2-4, Wharton school
of business at UPenn
• Our website: www.endowmentethics.org
• Webinars: www.voicethread.com (endowments)
• Student and trustee handbooks

18. Responsible Endowments
Coalition
Contact:
– Cheyenna Weber, Organizing Director
– Phone: 917.930.0123
– Email: organize@endowmentethics.org
– www.endowmentethics.org