Hopkins gets failing grade for secretive endowment
Hopkins has made a slight improvement over the past year in its attempts to provide a sustainable future, according to the Sustainable Endowments Institute.
In the College Sustainability Report Card, the Institute gives letter grades to Canadian and U.S. colleges and universities according to eight categories of sustainability. It awarded Hopkins with an overall B- grade in sustainability for the year 2008, up from a C+ in the 2007 report.
According to the Institute, Hopkins is a leader in administering sustainable initiatives and in providing sustainable transportation, but its otherwise average or exemplary grades are tainted by failing grades in the categories of "endowment transparency" and "shareholder engagement."
"There is nothing we need to change; we're doing good work. We just need more of it," said Davis Bookhart, Manager of Energy and Environmental Stewardship for the University.
Although Hopkins received As and Bs in six categories (including "Climate Change and Energy" and "Green Building"), the Report chastised the University for how it handles the endowment.
One of the failing grades was in the category "Endowment Transparency," which evaluates the ease with which the public can access a list of the University's endowment holdings and proxy voting record.
The Report claims that a free flow of investment information helps to "foster constructive dialogue about opportunities for clean energy investment, as well as shareholder voting priorities."
Hopkins does not make this information readily available to anyone except members of the University administration and those who are on the Committee on Investments (a part of the Board of Trustees).
"It is not in Johns Hopkins's interest to publicize widely its investments or strategies," Chief Investment Officer Kathryn Crecelius said.
"Our job is to maintain the purchasing power of the endowment - net of payout - for current and future students. That is the way we view 'sustainability,'"
In the College Sustainability Report Card, the Institute gives letter grades to Canadian and U.S. colleges and universities according to eight categories of sustainability. It awarded Hopkins with an overall B- grade in sustainability for the year 2008, up from a C+ in the 2007 report.
According to the Institute, Hopkins is a leader in administering sustainable initiatives and in providing sustainable transportation, but its otherwise average or exemplary grades are tainted by failing grades in the categories of "endowment transparency" and "shareholder engagement."
"There is nothing we need to change; we're doing good work. We just need more of it," said Davis Bookhart, Manager of Energy and Environmental Stewardship for the University.
Although Hopkins received As and Bs in six categories (including "Climate Change and Energy" and "Green Building"), the Report chastised the University for how it handles the endowment.
One of the failing grades was in the category "Endowment Transparency," which evaluates the ease with which the public can access a list of the University's endowment holdings and proxy voting record.
The Report claims that a free flow of investment information helps to "foster constructive dialogue about opportunities for clean energy investment, as well as shareholder voting priorities."
Hopkins does not make this information readily available to anyone except members of the University administration and those who are on the Committee on Investments (a part of the Board of Trustees).
"It is not in Johns Hopkins's interest to publicize widely its investments or strategies," Chief Investment Officer Kathryn Crecelius said.
"Our job is to maintain the purchasing power of the endowment - net of payout - for current and future students. That is the way we view 'sustainability,'"
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