Endowment transparency advocates may be one step closer to achieving tangible results after the newly established Advisory Committee for Shareholder Responsibility met last night for the first time.
The committee will make recommendations to the Board of Trustees on proxy voting, a process in which shareholders of a company vote on corporate decisions.
The committee was approved last May by the Board, and is composed of three undergraduate students, two graduate students, two alumni and three faculty and staff members.
Sophomore and Committee Chairman Gabe Frumkin told the Daily that the committee's initial meeting was an indication of success.
"It's apparent to all of us how much work we have ahead of us," he said. "But even having this first meeting reflects a huge amount of work on the part of students and faculty."
At last night's meeting, committee members discussed the group's mission as mandated by the Board, as well as specific short- and long-term goals. Members determined objectives for this semester, which will include attaining endowment transparency for the entire Tufts community, establishing regular meetings with those trustees who oversee the committee, and creating guidelines for making recommendations on proxy voting, with particular attention to human rights and climate change.
While they acknowledged that more socially responsible investment techniques could reduce the profitability of Tufts' endowment, members maintained that a good deal could be accomplished without hurting the university's returns.
"There's a tremendous amount one can do without reducing profitability," said committee member Neva Goodwin, the co-director of Tufts' Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE). To this end, some at the meeting said, the group at first should make less intensive and lower-profile recommendations to the Board.
Members also discussed how the university's returns on investments could be used for such socially responsible efforts as increasing financial aid.
One issue that dominated discussion was a series of unexpected restrictions that the Board has imposed on the group. For instance, the trustees have requested that student committee members sign non-disclosure agreements.
"One of the great things about doing this through a university is the educational opportunity for students," Goodwin said. But she noted that non-disclosure agreements could significantly limit the number of students who would learn about the proxy voting process.
In addition, the committee will only be able to make recommendations on the investments that Tufts holds directly, rather than on commingled or mutual funds. Committee members estimate that such direct holdings make up a small percentage of the university's investments, although they do not yet know the exact figure. That number might be as low as five percent, Goodwin said.
The advisory committee has decided to meet once every two weeks. Every other meeting will be open to the public.
"I think we're a great vehicle for change, and people are certainly [allowed] to come," Frumkin said.
