Representing a school with a history of controversial investments, Dartmouth's Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility has developed a new disclosure policy for the College's public stock holdings.
The new policy provides members of the Dartmouth community with a list of all public companies in which the College invests. The list has been readily available through the Investment Office since the beginning of Spring term. Due to confidentiality concerns, however, information is not provided regarding the College's interests in private companies and mutual funds.
"We are trying to be as up-front and transparent as possible," said Ronald Green, the current chair of ACIR.
The Investment Office, however, while explicit in providing the names of the public companies in which the College has an interest, fails to provide information regarding how much the College invests in each company.
"The College's investments change frequently and often account for a share of less than 1 percent in the company," Green said.
According to Green, the new disclosure policy was prompted by the recent formation of ACIR, which requires access to information regarding the College's public investments in order to function. The entire Dartmouth community was included in the disclosure for "educational purposes."
In years past, Dartmouth's investments have come under great scrutiny.
While many have seen significant monetary increases with the recent upturn of the stock market, Dartmouth has actually lost money. But, according to Green, the role of ACIR is not to influence investment and divestment. The committee's role is to merely make recommendations to College President James Wright and the Board of Trustees regarding shareholder proxies, which examine issues such as political contributions, animal welfare, tobacco company marketing and environmental issues, Green said.
The College also has a tainted history with regard to heeding to student concerns about the school's investments. In 1985, the campus erupted with students protesting the College's interests in South Africa. Students claimed the College's investments were unethical in light of the South African government's apartheid policies. Yet despite student activism, the College did not rescind its investments in South Africa until 1989.
Later, in 1993, the College divested from Hydro Quebec due to the company's alleged exploitation of Native Americans and disregard for the environment.
In the past, Dartmouth has not been forthcoming with investment information. In 1997, when students questioned investments in tobacco companies, College Director of Investments Jonathan King refused to comment on the nature of the College's interests as a matter of policy. Currently the College continues to invest in tobacco companies, including Altria, formerly Philip Morris.
The ACIR has 11 members including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and community members. The function of the ACIR is similar to that of investor responsibility committees at other institutions, including those at Harvard, Yale and Brown.
