Divestment Recommendations for Duke

Following an April 2 meeting with Provost Peter Lange - where we were informed that Duke had already sold the last of its direct holdings in "offending" companies- we proposed four recommendations to ensure that Duke refrains from financially supporting genocide and other human rights catastrophes in the future.

1. Remain directly divested from Sudan. The university should not directly invest, or reinvest, in the offending companies.

2. Decrease or limit current co-mingled investments in offending companies. Duke holds shares in co-mingled funds not specifically targeted by our divestment campaign. These co-mingled funds include mutual funds, for example, that invest in offending companies. The administration should consider divesting from these funds, or at least not invest any more money in them.

3. Apply pressure strategically to divest co-mingled funds. The university administration should continue acting proactively, by contacting the managers of mutual funds in which Duke is invested and asking them to divest from offending companies.

4. Maintain appropriate oversight of university investments. Since Duke’s holdings are not publicized, the student body has no way to independently verify the university’s divested status. The Duke University Management Company and the University Priorities Committee should reevaluate Duke’s holdings on a regular basis to confirm that the university remains divested from offending companies.
These proposals were addressed to the President’s Special Committee on Investment Responsibility, the University Priorities Committee, and any other bodies associated with the review procedures codified in the University’s Guidelines on Socially Responsible Investing.

The international movement to divest from Sudan would benefit substantially from a public expression of support by an institution as reputable as Duke. To go on record as one of dozens of colleges and universities that have taken deliberate, proactive measures to restrict their investments in a genocidal regime would represent a lasting tribute to the values for which Duke stands. Accordingly, we asked that the University release a public statement of the fact that it is no longer invested in the offending firms, along with a sincere pledge to adopt the recommendations outlined above.

A letter containing these recommendations was sent to Provost Lange the week following our meeting and a follow-up email was sent May 3.