U. hosts talk on ethical investing

In response to increased interest on campus in issues of socially responsible investing, the Resources Committee of the Council of the Princeton University Community has invited the chair of Yale’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility and law professor Jonathan Macey to give a talk on Mar. 7 about ethical investment models for the 21st century.

Following the talk, students chosen through an application process will have the opportunity to respond to Macey with their own thoughts on University investments.

According to psychology department chair and Resources Committee chair Deborah Prentice, the talk, titled “New Investment Models and New Challenges: Ethical Investing in the 21st Century,” will address concerns about University investments. Macey will offer advice on how to improve the process by which those investment decisions are evaluated.

In the last year and a half, students and faculty have campaigned against alleged University investments in particular companies, including those involved in gun manufacturing, alleged workers’ rights violations and fossil fuel production.

“There’s a real uptick in the level of concern and interest in these kinds of issues,” Prentice said. “We really wanted to invite somebody to campus who could talk to us about alternative models for addressing these concerns,” Prentice said.

In an invitation sent to student organizations, the committee announced that it would be reviewing applications for anyone interested in participating in a debriefing session after the lecture. Prentice said the committee decided to have a formal application process to ensure a meaningful and productive discussion following the lecture.

“It’s more just a way to get the discussion ball rolling,” she said. “A lot of times people are reluctant to ask the first question, and it also gives an opportunity for there to be some alternative student views out there on the table.”

Prentice said that time constraints will limit the number of accepted students to about three or four, giving each participant a chance to share his or her particular views. According to Prentice, the applicants will be chosen to reflect a diversity of ideas on the panel. Students who choose not to apply or are not selected can still attend the lecture, which is open to the public.

Last year, USG called for a referendum to encourage the University to invest its endowment in “socially responsible” ways. The referendum, which was sponsored by the Princeton Coalition for Endowment Responsibility, sought to improve transparency in University investments and encourage dialogue among students about responsible investment strategies.

After over three years of campus controversy, the University announced in March that it would stop investing in the hospitality firm HEI Hotels & Resorts, which was accused of workers’ rights violations. In addition, the Resources Committee is currently reviewing a petition from faculty members urging the University to stop investing in companies involved in firearm manufacturing in light of the Sandy Hook shooting.

“I think as we see more interest in these issues, we want to make sure that our procedures are what we want them to be,” Prentice said.

The Resources Committee, which is composed of faculty members, two undergraduates and one graduate student, does not make decisions about where the University invests its funds. According to undergraduate member Elektra Alivisatos ’14, the committee can only make recommendations to the University Board of Trustees, which supervises the investment of the endowment.

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According to Prentice, the committee created the application in an effort to incorporate student feedback into discussions about University investments. However, members of PCER are still hoping to increase transparency between the committee and the student body.

Lily Adler ’15, a member of PCER, said that Macey’s talk is a “good start” to improving the function of the Resources Committee, but specific measures need to be taken to reevaluate the committee’s guidelines and procedures.

“The process is far from complete. I don’t think [this lecture] is actually doing anything about the Resources Committee dealing with its own systemic problem,” Adler said.

PCER submitted a proposal to the Resources Committee in January urging the committee to make specific changes to its guidelines, which were established in 1997. According to Adler, PCER is still waiting to hear the committee’s response.

“PCER really wants to have more involvement and a more open and transparent process,” Prentice said. “[Macey’s talk] is a step towards thinking about what that might look like.”

According to Prentice, the committee hopes that Macey will introduce a potential investment model to the University through his description of Yale’s Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, which serves a function similar to that of the Resources Committee.

“Yale has its own kind of structure and process, and it’s a peer institution that people have often pointed to as doing things in a way that we should do them — kind of as a model,” Prentice said.

Prentice said the lecture is part of an ongoing discussion about ethically and socially responsible investment strategies on campus. According to Prentice, the Resources Committee has been engaged in conversations with PCER and the University about the possibility of establishing a course on ethical investing, either through the Wilson School or the finance program.

Applications for Macey’s talk are due to pubaff@princeton.edu on Wednesday, Feb. 27 by 5 p.m.