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University has no plans to divest from Sudan
Administration says it has no investments in Sudan, but has not considered formally divesting
Issue date: 12/6/07
"It's very ethically reprehensible to continue," said Aaron Martel, director of the JHU Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) divestment campaign.
The campaign is one of many national efforts focusing on targeted divestment, also known as selective divestment.
Martel hopes the campaign will force the University to divest from companies that the SDTF views as having financial ties to the region. Hopkins could then re-invest the money in more acceptable sources while still yielding reasonable returns.
"We're not making any extreme fringe demands," he said.
Still, the University will not take a position on either side. They have neither systematically reviewed their investments, nor made the investments available for public scrutiny.
"None of our managers is invested in companies in Sudan, whether in our name or in a fund's name," Chief Investment Officer Kathryn Crecelius wrote in an e-mail.
According to Crecelius, the investment office essentially acts as "managers of managers." A large portion of the University's holdings are in collective investments, such as mutual funds. The nature of these investments makes it more complicated to trace exactly where the funds are going.
Crecelius said that the University hires outside managers who buy securities in either the name of the University of in the name of their fund. Since the managers do not find "sustainable businesses" in Sudan, they have no desire to directly invest in these businesses.
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration James McGill said that he believes that the human rights issues in Sudan "will be dealt with most effectively via economic and diplomatic pressures instituted by our government and other governments."
The board of trustees, which makes the final decisions when it comes to University finances, refused to comment.
In the years since the genocide began, over 50 universities have divested, including some of the most prestigious in the country.
The campaign is one of many national efforts focusing on targeted divestment, also known as selective divestment.
Martel hopes the campaign will force the University to divest from companies that the SDTF views as having financial ties to the region. Hopkins could then re-invest the money in more acceptable sources while still yielding reasonable returns.
"We're not making any extreme fringe demands," he said.
Still, the University will not take a position on either side. They have neither systematically reviewed their investments, nor made the investments available for public scrutiny.
"None of our managers is invested in companies in Sudan, whether in our name or in a fund's name," Chief Investment Officer Kathryn Crecelius wrote in an e-mail.
According to Crecelius, the investment office essentially acts as "managers of managers." A large portion of the University's holdings are in collective investments, such as mutual funds. The nature of these investments makes it more complicated to trace exactly where the funds are going.
Crecelius said that the University hires outside managers who buy securities in either the name of the University of in the name of their fund. Since the managers do not find "sustainable businesses" in Sudan, they have no desire to directly invest in these businesses.
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration James McGill said that he believes that the human rights issues in Sudan "will be dealt with most effectively via economic and diplomatic pressures instituted by our government and other governments."
The board of trustees, which makes the final decisions when it comes to University finances, refused to comment.
In the years since the genocide began, over 50 universities have divested, including some of the most prestigious in the country.
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