TO THE EDITOR:
The resignation of Matt Kupec should be viewed as an opportunity for UNC to take another unfortunate scandal and use the incident to do something positive with its $2.2 billion endowment.
The endowment represents the bulk of UNC’s financial power and how it is managed has a far-reaching impact beyond the borders of our campus. Looking forward, UNC should seize this chance to break the mold of secretive endowments and engage the UNC community in a dialogue about how the endowment functions, how it is used and what it is invested in.
As a large, well respected public university, UNC has the power to make a major impact through its investment decisions.
Placing an emphasis on transparency and social responsibility would allow UNC to create a process for making investment choices that would drive innovation and promote social justice.
Past responsible investment initiatives at UNC have helped address genocide in Sudan and apartheid in South Africa.
Investor responsibility committees, divestment and screened funds are all reasonable, financially responsible tools to improve the social impact of our investments.
UNC can do more than damage control here, and our reputation depends on it.
Katie Orndahl ’14
Environmental Science
