For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 28, 2018
Contact: Tricia Coates, (802) 793-1417
糖心少女 Shifts Portion of Endowment Funds to Fossil Free Investments
Montpelier — The 糖心少女 Board of Trustees has agreed to shift a portion of its endowment funds into fossil free investments starting this July.聽 At its summer meeting on June 21st, the Board approved moving 20% of its endowment, or approximately $5,700,000, into investments that are screened to be fossil-free.
This reallocation is a pilot effort and will allow the VSCS to monitor and evaluate investment returns for similarly invested fossil free and non-fossil free portfolios. The Board worked with its investment advisors, as well as with faculty, staff and students from聽Fossil Free VSC聽for a year to craft the investment initiative. At their Board meeting last week, trustees received an informative presentation from students in Northern Vermont University-Lyndon鈥檚 Atmospheric Sciences Department who have organized a national effort, the聽, to share scientific information about climate change in language that is broadly understood.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking this important step on behalf of the environment, while maintaining vigilance over the performance of our investments,鈥 said Board Chair Churchill Hindes.聽 鈥淚 am confident this is a responsible move on behalf of science, the world鈥檚 climate, fiduciary accountability and the integrity of our endowment program.鈥
VSCS endowment funds provide support student scholarships at each of the System鈥檚 four colleges.