Yesterday, University President Frederick Lawrence sent an email to the Brandeis community announcing the formation of an exploratory committee on fossil fuel divestment. The committee, which includes alumni, students, faculty and administration, will assess the University's current investment strategies "as they relate to the fossil fuel divestment movement," as stated in the email.

Dean of Student Financial Services Peter Giumette is serving as the chair of the committee. Student Union President Ricky Rosen '14, Rohan Bhatia '14, Mike Abrams '15, Rachel Soule '12 and Colin Mew MBA '14 are the students and alumni serving on the committee, while Prof. John Ballantine (IBS), Arts and Sciences and Associate Provost Prof. Dan Perlman (BIOL) and Prof. Eric Olson (Heller) are the faculty members serving on the committee. Ex officios on the committee include Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel, Senior Vice President for Communication Ellen de Graffenreid, Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff David Bunis '83, Chief Investment Officer Nick Warren and member of the Board of Trustees Investment Committee Len Potter '83.

According to the email, the committee will be "analyzing the social and environmental justice impacts of the fossil fuel companies in which Brandeis holds investments ... modeling and understanding the financial impact of divestiture of the endowment from all or part of the companies analyzed ... establishing a list of alternative investment options including investment in socially and environmentally sustainable holdings or funds" and "addressing a more global objective of reducing the endowment's carbon footprint across each sector of our investment portfolio, utilizing Socrates scores and other Socially Responsible Investments indices."

The committee will produce a report of its findings and recommendations to the University. According to Rosen, there is no definite timeline for when a proposal will be complete. However, Rosen said in an interview with the Justice that the committee will be meeting every few weeks, and that all goals should be met by the end of the year. In fact, according to both Rosen and the email from Lawrence, the committee began to meet over the summer. The committee has met with Warren to discuss "the impact on funding and endowment, and the best way to go about it" thus far, Rosen said.

Abrams, a member of Students for a Just and Stable Future who has been an active member of the divestment campaign since last spring, wrote in an email to the Justice that the committee will continue to look at whether or not it is "feasible for the University, how will it affect the endowment-either negatively from divesting or positively from re-investing in alternative energy sources, and it will discuss other options for Brandeis to reduce its carbon footprint and be a more sustainable institution."

Soule, who is involved in the committee because she was acting as the alumni campaign coordinator for Brandeis's fossil fuel divestment campaign, wrote in an email to the Justice that "[t]he important thing to remember is that this is not just about Brandeis, and this is not just about our generation. This is about what our university community can do to tip political will away from the industry locking us into catastrophic climate change. It is about demanding justice for our generation and generations to come."

De Graffenreid wrote in an email to the Justice that "the discussions I have been involved in have been very open and all options seem to be on the table for consideration (i.e. nothing is definitely under consideration or definitely excluded from consideration)."  

Last April, the Brandeis student body voted 79 percent to 21 percent in favor of the University's divestment from fossil fuel companies. The vote did not have the authority to decide whether or not Brandeis would divest, but showed that the student body officially supports divestment.

"[The divestment referendum] was the major driving force behind this. ... A large majority of students felt this issue was a priority," said Rosen. "The formation of the divestment committee showed that we are serious about this cause. The difficulty will be figuring out how we can make this a reality."

Rosen said that the majority of the students on the committee are members of Students for Enivronmental Action and SJSF, who first initiated the movement on campus, and that the Union is the only other major student club or organization involved.

According to Abrams, his fundamental concern is the University student body. "We believe in our University's mission as a social justice institution and feel that divestment would be an excellent way to fulfill that goal. Climate change threatens human rights all across the globe, impacts people disproportionately based on race and class, and represents a real threat to our future," he wrote.

Despite the formation of the committee, the decision regarding whether or not to divest lies in the hands of the Board of Trustees, and not with the president or student body, according to Bhatia, a member of SJSF. According to the Brandeis website, "The Board of Trustees ... is responsible for and is the final authority on all aspects of the University's operations."
Bhatia wrote in an email to the Justice that the committee intends to present its research to the Board of Trustees, and only then can the a decision be made by the Board.

Though Brandeis has not yet decided to divest, SJSF has no plans to give up the goal of divestment from fossil fuel companies. Bhatia wrote in email to the Justice that "the Divest Brandeis campaign will continue to put pressure on the administration and the committee members to avoid stalling tactics and make sure that a decision is made as soon as possible."

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-Tate Herbert, Sara Dejene and Sam Topper contributed reporting