Earlier this month, the UNC Sierra Student Coalition delivered a letter to Chancellor Holden Thorp calling on the University to divest from coal.
Endowment transparency is an old issue, but this letter — which was co-signed by 35 student leaders from across UNC’s campus — merits another look at our endowment.
Also copied on this letter were the members of the Board of Trustees, the endowment’s board of directors and the UNC Management Company, which is responsible for investing the University’s endowment. Like any business, the mission of UNC Management Company is to maximize returns.
But since these returns are used exclusively to fund UNC, it makes little sense for them to be earned by supporting ventures that are directly opposed to the University’s stated aims. And one of these aims is sustainability.
UNC Management Company was established in 2003 to manage UNC’s endowment, recently estimated at $2.5 billion.
The company’s status as a separate — but still nonprofit — entity allows it to operate differently than the rest of the University.
Unlike the UNC administration, UNC Management can offer its employees the same kind of compensation as other asset managers, with whom UNC Management competes for talent in the lucrative financial services industry. The company can also limit disclosure of its investments.
But the University itself is not a business, and our investment choices should reflect this.
Altering the way our endowment operates need not mean sacrificing our returns. Some of the largest and most successful endowments in the country screen their holdings to avoid investing in socially irresponsible companies.