University of Oregon student vote urges cutting fossil fuel stocks

Source: Diane Dietz, Eugene Register-Guard • Posted: Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The student association at the University of Oregon has voted to ask the foundation that runs the school’s endowment to divest from its stock holdings in fossil fuel companies.

The University of Oregon Foundation manages $734 million in long-term investments, but only about 1 percent is in fossil fuels, according to foundation President and CEO Paul Weinhold. In response to last week’s nonbinding vote by the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, Weinhold said the foundation will not be shedding its fossil fuel investments.

“I don’t see this as an issue at all, frankly,” Weinhold said.

The University of Oregon is the latest college to enter the fossil fuel divestment campaign. A handful of universities have announced their intentions to divest, including San Francisco State University and Pitzer College in Southern California. Harvard University, the largest endowed university in the country, has been debating the issue for two years. The school’s president, Drew Faust, recently said Harvard will not be divesting its fossil fuel holdings (Diane Dietz, Eugene Register-Guard, April 19)

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