Socially Resp. Investing
Socially Responsible investing (SRI) means the New School invests its money to do good for society; and it means the university’s members have the information to know this is being done. As of January 2010 the Trustees have approved our proposal and the new SRI Committee is being set up. News on the committee’s structure will be forthcooming shortly.
USS has been campaigning for several years to establish a SRI Committee with student members. A Trustee-Student-Faculty-Admin Special Committee, chaired by trustee Bevis Longstreth, met for most of 2009 to develop a policy for this. The committee had three student representatives: USS 08-09 President and 09-10 Secretary Peter Ian Cummings; 08-09 NSSR Senator Atlee McFellin, and Milano’s Marianne Bellotti, a nonprofit specialist.
This is the Trustees’ statement of January 28, 2010:
To the university community:
The New School Board of Trustees has approved the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee to the Board regarding Socially Responsible Investing. This includes the establishment of an Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility comprised of faculty, students and staff – with the sole change being the addition of a Board member to this Committee. The New School will now move forward to begin work to implement the amended policy by fall 2010.
With respect to faculty, student and alumni representation, the Board is taking seriously the recommendations of the Committee and is moving forward to explore them in greater detail in the context of the ongoing work of its Nominating and Governance Task Force.
The current policy on socially responsible investing appears here.
Board of Trustees
Using our money wisely
USS resolved in November 2008 that The New School should invest its money in companies that improve people’s lives; let the public know where our money is, so we can verify that we are using it for good; and that the New School should establish a Socially Responsible Investing Committee to ensure we invest our money wisely. Following the December 2008 campus actions (read the signed agreement), President Bob Kerrey, who had opposed such disclosure and student membership in an SRI Committee, said he would support an SRI Committee. Kerrey further announced in February 2009 that a student-faculty-admin-trustee committee will consider these issues; USS is represented on this committee which will start meeting in April 2009.
USS Resolution on A Committee on Socially Responsible Investment & University Self-Management
November 2008
This university prides itself on its commitment to social justice and progressive values. In accordance with this foundation we, the New School University Student Senate (USS), believe the trustees of the university should make all budgetary and investment information available to any and all university students, faculty, and staff. This includes but is not limited to information regarding the university’s endowment. We, the USS, believe the university should also form a Committee on Socially Responsible Investing and University Self-Management (the SRI Committee) to help the university Trustees on ethical and social issues that arise in the management of the investments of its finances in addition to contracts with corporations outside the university.
Those who pursue fossil fuels and global domination at the expense of the ecological stability of the planet and the safety of its peoples are driving our country into economic crisis. We live in an era where people are forced from their homes by banks in record numbers, while the government gives $700 billion to the rich financial elite. We need to take this country back from neo-conservative pursuits of profit and war-mongering. In the new administration we must work to build a new economy that will help people out of debt and poverty, while addressing climate change through the creation of a ‘green’ economy accountable to their workers and surrounding communities.
The New School can be part of the solution, acting to better the world by getting rid of investments in war-profiteers and corporations who act in ways counter to our ethics. We as a university can invest in renewable energy like wind and solar power that will create green jobs and put people back to work. We can invest in credit unions as opposed to coal power-funding financial corporations, so people can get money to purchase homes at reasonable rates outside of the tyranny of predatory lenders and financial monopoly. We can also invest in locally self-managed, affordable housing retrofitted to be energy efficient and powered by renewable energy sources. We can responsibly invest our endowment to create a more equitable and democratic society.
At the same time as we work to better the world with our university’s endowments, we too will prosper from sustainable and responsible investments. We can use the rewards from our investments to reduce tuition and general costs to students. It can provide for general student employment when needed, fellowships for grad students with requirements to teach courses, better health coverage and pay for those who need child-care and other services. It can also pay for a living wage and better benefits to all university staff.
New School University Student Senate