Hopkins receives B- from Sustainability Report Card
Though the College Sustainability Report Card awarded Hopkins high marks in sustainability areas such as green buildings, transportation and student involvement, failing scores for privatized endowments lowered the overall score to a B-.
Now in its third year, the Report Card examines 300 colleges and universities, gauging their level of sustainability, or how well the school meets the needs of the present without negatively impacting the future. The Report Card studies a school's policies in the areas of Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Endowment Transparency, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Investment Priorities, Shareholder Engagement, Student Involvement and Transportation.
Under the category of Endowment Transparency the Report Card gave Hopkins an F due to the lack of information the school has made public with regards to the $2.8-billion endowment (as of June 30, 2007).
"The university makes neither its proxy voting record nor a list of endowment holdings public. This information is only available to trustees and senior administrators upon request" stated the Report.
Kathryn J. Crecelius, the Chief Investment Officer of Hopkins, addressed the transparency issue by explaining the competitiveness of investment management with an increasing number of endowments, foundations, Sovereign Wealth Funds, pension funds and others all vying to get access to managers and asset classes.
"It is not in Johns Hopkins's interest to publicize widely its investments or strategies. That is why we limit transparency," she wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
Davis Bookhart, the Environmental Stewardship Manager expressed frustration at the opaqueness of the endowment category. He said he wondered if Hopkins's sustainability policies were being undermined by investments in companies that in some way oppose green projects.
"It looks like we're being criticized because our endowment is not transparent, and if it's not transparent, does it mean we're investing in things we're embarrassed about, or in things that are undercutting our missions?" Bookhart said. "How can we be confident in knowing that what an alumnus is giving us is not going to undercut the goals we're setting here?"
Now in its third year, the Report Card examines 300 colleges and universities, gauging their level of sustainability, or how well the school meets the needs of the present without negatively impacting the future. The Report Card studies a school's policies in the areas of Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Endowment Transparency, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Investment Priorities, Shareholder Engagement, Student Involvement and Transportation.
Under the category of Endowment Transparency the Report Card gave Hopkins an F due to the lack of information the school has made public with regards to the $2.8-billion endowment (as of June 30, 2007).
"The university makes neither its proxy voting record nor a list of endowment holdings public. This information is only available to trustees and senior administrators upon request" stated the Report.
Kathryn J. Crecelius, the Chief Investment Officer of Hopkins, addressed the transparency issue by explaining the competitiveness of investment management with an increasing number of endowments, foundations, Sovereign Wealth Funds, pension funds and others all vying to get access to managers and asset classes.
"It is not in Johns Hopkins's interest to publicize widely its investments or strategies. That is why we limit transparency," she wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
Davis Bookhart, the Environmental Stewardship Manager expressed frustration at the opaqueness of the endowment category. He said he wondered if Hopkins's sustainability policies were being undermined by investments in companies that in some way oppose green projects.
"It looks like we're being criticized because our endowment is not transparent, and if it's not transparent, does it mean we're investing in things we're embarrassed about, or in things that are undercutting our missions?" Bookhart said. "How can we be confident in knowing that what an alumnus is giving us is not going to undercut the goals we're setting here?"
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