The Board of Managers adopts the ban on ethical divestment
The ban, part of the endowment fund’s “Statement of Investment Objectives and Policies,” states: “As a matter of policy, the Investment Committee manages the endowment to yield the best long term financial results, rather than to pursue other social objectives.”
Students involved in the fossil fuel divestment campaign began referring to this policy as “the ban” after the Board repeatedly cited it to dismiss their demands. The Board has also used the ban to block other campaigns, including
- Divestment from arms manufacturers (2001)
- Divestment from companies involved in the Israeli apartheid state and occupation of Palestine (2009, 2019)
- Ending the ban (2018)
Little public information about the ban and its adoption exists. The date of the ban’s adoption is not known. The Board did not offer a rationale for instituting the ban because it did so in secret. Even the investment policy which contains the ban is not publicly available.
Almost everything known publicly about the ban comes from explanations of the policy by administrators and Board members. Those explanations are short on details and sometimes contradictory.
(find more swat sources about this b/c, of course, the ban itself isn’t available nor is contemporary sources about its adoption).