Board Task Force on Fossil Fuel Divestment
April 24, 2017
Dear Grinnell students, faculty, and staff:
At first blush, the fossil-fuel-divestment issue seemed purely to be a question for the Board of Trustees' Investment Committee. And as such, the Investment Committee responded at our February meeting with a new policy for board consideration of divestment requests. However, President Kington reports that students are continuing to raise concerns. I believe the continued student activism indicates that, while the Investment Committee responded to the specific question, the underlying issues are broader and of general board concern.
Grinnell is not alone: students across the nation are advocating for meaningful change around a variety of issues while feeling confused and powerless in the face of new political realities. I believe this discontent and activism presents the board with an opportunity to model how transparent governance and civil debate can and should work.
President Kington has suggested a method employed by the University of Denver's board of trustees to address strategic issues. It lays out a structured set of conversations convened by a board task force, supported by a campus advisory group. From the DU website:
"The Board of Trustees appointed a Divestment Task Force to explore the question of fossil fuel divestment, as advocated by the student group Divest DU....The task force explored the question of divestment in an intellectually serious and transparent way....(They) reviewed a variety of materials and heard from various experts through a series of hearings. Members of the DU community were invited to attend all hearings as observers."
You can read more about the DU process.
With the approval of the Executive Committee, I have appointed a Board Task Force and have requested that President Kington appoint a supporting advisory committee of students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Michael Kahn '74 will chair the task force, with members Edward Senn '79 and Kathryn Mohrman '67. I anticipate that the task force will begin its work this summer and conclude in advance of our spring 2018 meeting.
Please note that creation of the task force does not supersede the divestment policy adopted by the Investment Committee at our February meeting. Regardless of the task force's recommendation, any formal request that the College divest of fossil fuel holdings will be subject to the Investment Committee policy. It is my expectation that such a request and the resulting Investment Committee recommendation will be better informed by this broad-based, transparent process of intellectual discovery.
Best,
Patricia Jipp Finkelman '80
Chair, Board of Trustees