Georgetown University continues to ignore morality in its investment decisions

Coalition Receives Woefully Inadequate Response from the Administration

April 27- This afternoon, Georgetown Divest received a response to its letters to President DeGioia of April 14, 23 and 26, which called on the University to live up to its Jesuit values by investing its endowment in a socially responsible manner, and called for the establishment of a body comprised of faculty, staff and students that would advise the Investment Office on issues of socially responsible investment, so that endowment investments would conform to the University’s foundational values.

This letter includes many misleading and contradictory statements. For example, it states, “The specific holdings of a managed fund change from time to time, sometimes frequently, due to investment decisions outside of University control. In this context, divestment of individual investments in companies is not possible…” This statement directly contradicts the current Investment Policy Statement for Georgetown’s Endowment, available online (or until the University removes it after the coalition publicizes it, as it did statements about a Committee on Socially Responsible Investment) at the Investment Office website: “” While the selection of individual securities should be based on the investment objectives and guidelines set forth in this policy, the Board of Directors may elect to exclude from portfolios certain securities that it determines are incompatible with the basic values of the University. Consistent with the acknowledgment of these values, the University shall strive to exercise its shareholders’ rights in voting proxies in a socially responsible manner.” (Bolding ours) Either their letter to us today is misleading, or the investment policy statement is. Indeed, such socially responsible investment is a common practice in America today, as we noted in our prior letters to the administration. According to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, “roughly 11 percent of assets under professional management in the U.S.- nearly one out of every nine dollars- are now invested in SRI.” The administration must understand that it cannot continue to hide behind its argument that socially responsible investment “is not possible.”

Furthermore, the University has also ignored the call for a committee on socially responsible investment, a call that was echoed by the GUSA Senate in a resolution overwhelmingly passed on Sunday. There is precedent for such a process at a Jesuit university. Loyola University of Chicago, with an endowment in the hundreds of millions of dollars, has created the Shareholder Advocacy Committee to substantively address student concerns about university investments and to use the power of the portfolio to affect corporate policies. Santa Clara University has a similar process of socially responsible investment, and the CIO of that Jesuit institution stated in 2007 that he did not believe the school’s SRI policies negatively affect the growth of the school’s endowment. These two schools are just two examples among many colleges and universities across the country that incorporate policies of social responsibility into their investment practices.

We believe that this letter does not constitute a good faith response to student concerns about our university’s blatant disregard for social responsibility when it comes to its endowment. It is not a response that the coalition will accept, and we will continue to pressure the University until it recognizes that ethical values should be considered in the university’s investment decisions at all. Tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 PM, we will return this letter to President DeGioia.

Letter from Administration April 27, 2010

Georgetown University Still Refuses to Acknowledge Social Irresponsibilty

Regardless of whether Georgetown directly invests in individual companies or invests in funds through managers, its commitment to social justice binds it to ethical and socially responsible investment. The administration has tried to justify its actions by placing ultimate responsibility upon the fund managers, and explaining that it would be impossible to divest from specific companies. It is unacceptable to use the current investment practice as an excuse to ignore ethics in investing. If the University continues to ignore our concerns, we will return each day this week to remind the administration that students will not allow the University to continue practices of socially irresponsible investing.

This week, each delegation will begin in Red Square at 2:30 and conclude at 2:40 after a walk to the President’s Office in Healy Hall. We have asked President DeGioia to ensure that there are real procedures for ethical oversight of university investment policies. Daily delegations will act as an urgent reminder to the administration to act quickly on this gravely important issue. We hold our university to a higher standard in which our investments DO uphold our Jesuit values! Please join us in reminding the administration of the necessity of ethical oversight of our investments.

When Georgetown administrators try to explain that divestment from individual companies would be impractical and unfeasible, they are wrong. According to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, “roughly 11 percent of assets under professional management in the U.S.- nearly one out of every nine dollars- are now invested in SRI.” Furthermore, numerous studies suggest that socially responsible investment often outperforms market benchmarks.

The Chief Investment Officer of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit school, stated in 2007 that he did not believe the school’s SRI policies negatively affect the growth of the school’s endowment. Loyola University of Chicago, another Jesuit institution, has created the Shareholder Advocacy Committee to substantively address student concerns about university investments and to use the power of the portfolio to affect corporate policies. These two schools are just two examples among many colleges and universities across the country that incorporate policies of social responsibility into their investment practices.

On April 25th the Georgetown University Student Association overwhelmingly passed a resolution that “calls for the institution of policies that ensure that all investments are compatible with the basic values of the University,” and “further calls for the establishment of a body comprised of faculty, staff and students that advise the Georgetown University Investment Office on issues of socially responsible investment, so that Georgetown University Endowment investments conform to the University’s foundational values.” This support from the elected representatives of the student body is yet another demonstration of the real concern that students have on this issue.

Every day that Georgetown University has no policy of socially responsible investment, we are morally culpable for practices by companies in which our endowment is invested that violate international law and abuse human rights.

Coalition presents to GUSA Senate

This afternoon, coalition members Jackson Perry and Elise Garofalo delivered a presentation in front of the GUSA Senate about the University’s blatant lack of policies of socially responsible investing. After the short presentation (which is available at the end of this post), Perry and Garofalo answered questions from GUSA Senators and GUSA President Calen Angert about Georgetown’s investment policies and about our campaign’s goals in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian context. Several Senators voiced concern over Georgetown’s failure to establish policies of socially responsible investment, and support for a potential GUSA resolution on the matter. Others were skeptical of the coalition’s decision to focus on companies profiting from human rights violations in Israel and Palestine, rather than broadening the focus to companies anywhere who profit from human rights violations. Perry responded that he supported divestment from such companies, and that the focus on the context of Israel-Palestine in particular was because of the length and severity of the conflict and the human rights violations perpetrated there, and the unique role America plays in maintaining the conflict. Furthermore, our coalition members argued that by supporting our call for a mechanism to substantively address to student concerns about University investments, it will become easier for all students to raise questions and concerns. GUSA Speaker Adam Talbot was troubled by the facts presented by the coalition, and stated that he plans to write a letter to the administration about this issue.

Georgetown Voice blog post about the Senate session

Presentation to GUSA 4.18.10

The Week’s Coverage Condensed

From The Georgetown Voice:

Saxa Politica: Immoral Investments: “While divestment is non-negotiable to administrators, it appears that Georgetown’s Jesuit and Catholic identity is.”

Misguided idealism of Georgetown, Divest!: “The string of reports coming from the Middle East appear to confirm the assertions aired by the newly formed coalition Georgetown, Divest! that the human rights situation in Gaza and the West Bank is deplorable and the University is obliged to take action….Yet as dire as the situation in Israel may be, Georgetown, Divest!’s argument that the University has an obligation to pull its investments in companies that profit from Israel’s poor policies is impractical.”

From The Hoya:

Students Decry No Investment Oversight: “‘Social responsibility and ethics currently play no role in Georgetown’s investment practices, and the establishment of some mechanism for oversight is a pressing concern,’ Schwartz said. According to the university, the question of divestment is a non-issue because the university generally does not directly invest in specific companies. ‘The endowment fund managed by the Investment Office does not directly invest in individual companies,’ said Andy Pino, director of media relations. ‘Rather, it invests in managed funds that are similar to the mutual fund most people invest in as part of their retirement plans. Georgetown’s investment practices do not include the selection of individual securities. As a result, the question of divestment does not apply.’ Members of the Georgetown, Divest! Coalition said that this distinction is nothing more than a loophole, and that they are not satisfied with the university’s response to their concerns.”

Poor Execution: “For those of us who aren’t economics majors, the details of the new campaign by Georgetown, Divest! — and the university’s response to it — may seem somewhat baffling. Anyone who does comb through all of the facts, however, will conclude that Georgetown, Divest! is a group with a good heart but an outdated and politically divisive strategy….While the group’s leaders have claimed that they do not favor either side of the conflict, their Web site exhibits a clear pro-Palestinian leaning.”

We’re unsure where The Hoya heard this claim of neutrality. We contend that certain Israeli actions and policies have oppressed the Palestinian people, such as the construction of illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, the construction of the illegal separation barrier on Palestinian land, military action against innocent civilians, and institutional discrimination against persons of a specific race, religion, or ethnicity. I don’t think we’re trying to hide our stance on the “conflict.”

Wednesday’s March for Social Responsibility

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On Wednesday, April 14, the coalition marched from Red Square to the President’s Office to demand the University establish policies of socially responsible investing. In our letter, we addressed President DeGioia:

We refuse to accept our money being invested in a way that utterly disregards social responsibility. After all, you yourself have written that “our Jesuit heritage and tradition inspire all of us- in the spirit of St. Ignatius Loyola- to engage in the world to make it a better place” and that “our heritage requires that social justice issues are never consigned to the shadows of our consciousness.”

Current university practices provide no justification for ignoring the responsibility to stand for social justice that we all share. Georgetown, Divest! reiterates its demand of divestment from Ahava, Motorola, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, Riwal, and Roadstone Holdings. As the President of our university, we call upon you to ensure that there are real procedures for ethical oversight of university investment policies and ask that you respond no later than Monday, April 19.

Coalition’s Argument Presented to Georgetown University Community

On Tuesday, April 13, the coalition presented its argument to the Georgetown community for selective divestment from eight companies that profit from human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. After coalition member Jackson Perry delivered a forty-minute presentation, laying out our case, Professor Mark Lance of the Program on Justice and Peace gave a short speech about the apartheid nature of the Israeli rule in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and emphasized that “every person who pays taxes in this country supports this whether you like it or not.” Father Raymond Kemp cited the history of Catholic social justice, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s in relation to South Africa. Shelley Fudge of Jewish Voices for Peace concluded by describing her campaign’s efforts to address the flagrant human rights violations in Israel and Palestine. The speakers also addressed the discouraging lack of concern for social responsibility when it comes to investment policies at Georgetown.

More information about the event has been published on the blog of the Georgetown Voice, linked here:
http://blog.georgetownvoice.com/2010/04/14/the-georgetown-divest-forum-on-university-investment-in-palestine-and-israel/
. More information about the event and our argument can be found under the Argument link on the Home Page of this blog or by contacting the coalition at GeorgetownDivest@Gmail.com.

Letter from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Cal Berkeley divestment movement

A letter from Desmond Tutu to the divestment-sponsors at the University of California, circulated by Emily Schaeffer, human right lawyer in Israel/Palestine, who asked Archbishop Tutu to write the letter.

Dear Student Leaders at the University of California – Berkeley

It was with great joy that I learned of your recent 16-4 vote in support of divesting your university’s money from companies that enable and profit from the injustice of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and violation of Palestinian human rights. Principled stands like this, supported by a fast growing number of US civil society organizations and people of conscience, including prominent Jewish groups, are essential for a better world in the making, and it is always an inspiration when young people lead the way and speak truth to power.

I am writing to tell you that, despite what detractors may allege, you are doing the right thing. You are doing the moral thing. You are doing that which is incumbent on you as humans who believe that all people have dignity and rights, and that all those being denied their dignity and rights deserve the solidarity of their fellow human beings.

I have been to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and I have witnessed the racially segregated roads and housing that reminded me so much of the conditions we experienced in South Africa under the racist system of Apartheid. I have witnessed the humiliation of Palestinian men, women, and children made to wait hours at Israeli military checkpoints routinely when trying to make the most basic of trips to visit relatives or attend school or college, and this humiliation is familiar to me and the many black South Africans who were corralled and regularly insulted by the security forces of the Apartheid government.

In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime.

Students played a leading role in that struggle, and I write this letter with a special indebtedness to your school, Berkeley, for its pioneering role in advocating equality in South Africa and promoting corporate ethical and social responsibility to end complicity in Apartheid. I visited your campus in the 1980’s and was touched to find students sitting out in the baking sunshine to demonstrate for the University’s divestment in companies supporting the South African regime.

The same issue of equality is what motivates the divestment movement of today, which tries to end Israel’s 43 year long occupation and the unequal treatment of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government ruling over them. The abuses they face are real, and no person should be offended by principled, morally consistent, non-violent acts to oppose them. It is no more wrong to call out Israel in particular for its abuses than it was to call out the Apartheid regime in particular for its abuses.

To those who wrongly accuse you of unfairness or harm done to them by this call for divestment, I suggest, with humility, that the harm suffered from being confronted with opinions that challenge one’s own pales in comparison to the harm done by living a life under occupation and daily denial of basic rights and dignity. It is not with rancor that we criticize the Israeli government, but with hope, a hope that a better future can be made for both Israelis and Palestinians, a future in which both the violence of the occupier and the resulting violent resistance of the occupied come to an end, and where one people need not rule over another, engendering suffering, humiliation, and retaliation. True peace must be anchored in justice and an unwavering commitment to universal rights for all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin or any other identity attribute. You, students, are helping to pave that path to a just peace.

I heartily endorse your divestment vote and encourage you to stand firm on the side of what is right,

God bless you richly,

Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town