College Hosts Experts for Panel on Divestment

In the wake of high-profile student protests and amid a growing university movement to combat climate change, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz announced that that the College will host a panel of experts to discuss the feasibility of divesting its endowment from the fossil fuel industry on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the McCullough Social Space.

Two days in advance of the panel, Schumann Distinguished Scholar Bill McKibben and other special guests will speak at “Midd Does the Math,” an event hosted by various student groups in conjunction with the environmentalist-activist organization 350.org. The event will occur at Mead Chapel on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 8 p.m.

Tuesday’s panel will feature McKibben, renowned climate activist and founder of 350.org; Ralphe Earle, a renewables-focused venture investor; Alice Handy, founder and president of Investure, the firm that manages the College’s endowment; Mark Kritzman, adjunct professor of finance at MIT; and John Tormondsen ’82, a trustee of the College’s Board of Directors, and a member of the Finance Committee.

As the divestment movement has gained traction on campus this fall, many students have raised questions about the benefits and consequences of withdrawing the College’s investments in fossil fuels manufacturing companies and arms manufacturing companies. In December, Liebowitz announced in an email to all staff, students and faculty that the College has roughly 3.6 percent of its endowment invested in fossil fuel industries and approximately 0.6 percent in defense and arms manufacturing companies.

Questions have also been raised regarding the College’s investment structure, a model which sees the management of the institution’s approximately $900 million endowment outsourced to Investure LLC., which pools the College’s funds with the endowments of 12 other institutions or foundations.

“We’re going to learn and we’re going to see what our options are,” said Liebowitz. “Is divestment the only option? Is divestment the best option? What are the consequences?”

“Nothing is off the table,” he continued. “We have an open mind to hear as much as we can, and for the board to engage this as well.”

For many, this has represented a significantly positive first step, especially when considering the tepid reaction that divestment movements have been met with at other institutions. While Maine-based Unity College became the first to divest its endowment in December, Harvard University representatives have stated that their institution will not consider divestment.

“I’m really excited that Middlebury is initiating a dialogue about the ethics of our endowment,” said Assi Askala ’15, a member of Divest for Our Future Middlebury.

Though pleased with the opportunity to engage in dialogue, some student divestment organizational leaders on campus have questioned the College’s choice of panelists.

“The panelists may be experts, but they still have biases,” said Molly Stuart ’15.5,one of the five students unofficially disciplined by the College for the dissemination of a fake press release announcing that the endowment had been divested from fossil fuels in November.

“The panel should include a member of a community significantly affected by climate change, or a student, in order to represent facts and opinions primarily concerned with a livable planet, rather than maximum returns on our investments,” added Stuart.

Student were also critical of proposed format for the question and answer period, in which panelists will only respond to questions submitted and screened ahead of time by the administration and the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing (ACSRI).

In response to such criticism, Liebowitz explained that the College would use student submissions as a way to incorporate their voices into the discussion.

“We want professionals to talk about the effectiveness of these approaches, and of divestment generally speaking. The goal is to have a fact-based, in-depth discussion, rather than [a discussion based upon] emotion,” said Liebowitz. “Student opinions are important, but for this first panel we wanted opinions based on the deep experience that the panelists will bring to the discussion.”

Liebowitz explained that many of the panelists have devoted their entire careers to understanding and engaging with investment, making them well suited to help educate community members on the benefits and consequences of divestment.

In a telephone interview, McKibben lamented the lack of a student panelist, but was supportive of the College’s decision to host the panel and stated that he was pleased to participate. In addition to his role on Tuesday, McKibben will also speak at Sunday’s Midd Does the Math event.

The event will loosely follow the model used by McKibben’s highly successful Do the Math tour, a month-long cross-country campaign that saw the renowned climate change activist and others speak before thousands at sold out venues in 24 cities.

At the Middlebury event, McKibben will be joined by faculty, alumni and student speakers. Community members will also have an opportunity to watch taped messages from prominent social change activists Naomi Klein, Van Jones, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Clayton Thomas Muller.

Years ago, facing political roadblocks and recognizing what he described as the “extreme political power of the fossil fuel industry,” McKibben consulted with many experts, including Archbishop Tutu, on a plan to decrease the power of the wealthiest industry ever in human history.

According to McKibben, “One of the only really successful examples in American history [of diminishing such entrenched power] was the student-led divestment movement that helped to, from a distance, liberate South Africa in the 1980s.”

“I hope people come out of the event with a greater understanding,” said McKibben. “At this point everybody understands that global warming is an overwhelming problem, but I hope that everyone will come out feeling that there is something really powerful that they can do close to home that is on a scale that makes some kind of real difference.”

“I also hope that the college understands just how logical it is — since they’ve done a good job greening the campus — that the logical next step would be to green our portfolio.  It’s another part of our shared campus life.”