When it comes to money, it seems that a moral mess is never very far away. The current hubbub surrounding the transparency (or lack thereof) of Tufts' endowment is a clear example of what happens when practical financial affairs meet ethical concerns.
The impending creation of a committee of faculty, students, administrators and alumni to advise the Board of Trustees on the handling of Tufts' endowment will hopefully help our school manage its money in the most morally acceptable way possible.
We certainly applaud both the gumption of and the moral compass guiding students who are currently calling for more endowment transparency at Tufts. The Tufts Coalition for Endowment Transparency and Democracy (TCETD) is right to be concerned about the current amount of public disclosure of the university's endowment, which now sits at a resounding zero percent.
While Tufts money is being poured into undisclosed locations, we have no way of knowing whether the dollars helping our school run smoothly are also boosting the finances of corrupt governments or unscrupulous corporations.
It's also relevant to consider whatever conception we may have of our university as a moral beacon. Education is rarely an objective enterprise, and college campuses often serve as breeding groups for social movements.
That being said, it just isn't realistic to except or to demand full transparency from those who manage Tufts' endowment. The university cannot remain an attractive entity for investors if we insist on meticulously spelling out, for all to see, the gory details of our investment strategies.
Furthermore, although the enthusiasm of TCETD is laudable, the organization must realize that it is not students' money making up the endowment. Should we really be looking gift horses in the mouth when donors give piles of money to our school?
As undergraduates at Tufts, it is often easy to lose sight of the fact that we are not the only constituents of this university. Not only is our school made up of numerous graduate programs, but there are also countless researchers among the faculty here. We aren't about to rely on a majority vote to decide how the endowment will be spent.
So how are we to reconcile these practical issues with the moral ones outlined above? The resolution from the Board of Trustees passed last May to create an advisory committee is a good place to start. We're pleased to see the university taking a practical step towards solving this problem.
