NU's Leadership | old site

Northwestern's Leadership

Divestment movements are not new to Northwestern. Just a decade ago, students pushed NU to partially divest from companies enabling violence in Darfur. In the late 1990s, students called on NU to end investments in corporations operating in Burma, resulting in divestment from two companies. And before that, the Trustees severed ties with a handful of companies upholding apartheid in South Africa. Students have been calling for social responsibility for decades, but Northwestern has never fully delivered. Hopefully this time will be the charm.

If Northwestern were to divest from fossil fuels today, we would be in good company-- hundreds of universities, foundations, religious institutions, and governments have committed to full or partial fossil fuel divestment. The list includes ranges from our peer institutions like Stanford, Syracuse and the New School to governments like Seattle and Norway. Even the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, managed by the family of the oil tycoon himself, divested from fossil fuels in September 2014. Right now, Northwestern has the opportunity to join our peers and become a trailblazer in fossil fuel divestment.

But beyond joining the movement, Northwestern should divest because fossil fuel investments defy our mission and duty as an academic institution. Northwestern’s strategic plan states, “[We will] contribute to the solutions for renewable energy and a sustainable environment and to how public policies and economic incentives promote implementation of new technologies and practices.” But we can’t hope to contribute to solutions when we’re still investing in the problem. To be morally consistent, we need to align our financial actions with our environmental values.

TL;DR

Northwestern students have led divestment movements in the past, but Northwestern hasn’t ever fully divested from anything. It’s time now for us to stand on the right side of history.
Northwestern aims to be a leader in sustainability and address climate change-- but our investments don’t mirror those goals.
Other prestigious academic institutions have started divesting from fossil fuels, and it’s time for Northwestern to join the fight. We can help pave the way for huge change.