Following years of student protests, American University announced Wednesday that it caved to student demands, and has fully divested from fossil fuel investments in their endowment.
According to Insider Higher Ed, the university sold “$350 million in commingled funds and index funds to complete the divestment,” reinvesting the funds into non-fossil fuel holdings.
University President Sylvia Burwell said in a statement that the shift demonstrates the school’s leadership in the “global fight against climate change.”
“Our actions, from reaching carbon neutrality to the Board’s commitment to evolving our investments, will continue to serve as a model for sustainability, further demonstrating our leadership on the issue and how our community can make an impact in the global fight against climate change,” Burwell said.
AU was named the 3rd most liberal college in America in 2020 by CBS News. Students have urged the school to divest in multiple referendums.
American University has joined a list of fewer than 50 U.S. colleges to fully divest from fossil fuel holdings.
While American may claim to have divested in spirit of “saving the environment,” it’s obvious this is virtue-signaling. The price of oil has been on the decline for several years–the university simply made a sound financial decision for their portfolio as presumably advised by accountants. It’s another tell-tale sign that universities will frame anything and everything into appeasing leftist students’ narrative.
