What is the Harvard Corporation and
What is the Harvard Corporation and
The Harvard Corporation, or the President and Fellows of Harvard College, is the highest of Harvard University’s two governing boards and is composed of 13 members (you can find a full list on this website). Four of those members sit on a subset of the Corporation known as the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (CCSR), which oversees matters regarding the University’s position as a shareholder, including the guidelines provided by Harvard Management Company to outside investment firms that manage Harvard’s University funds from its $42 billion endowment.
What is this website all about? And why does it matter?
When the planet’s on fire, the richest university in the world shouldn’t fund the arsonists — and students, faculty, and alumni have all resoundingly called for of divestment. But for too long, the members of the Harvard Corporation have evaded responsibility for their choice to continue investing in the companies driving the climate crisis.
As young people concerned about our futures and students who want to see our university demonstrate true climate leadership, we’re calling on the Harvard Corporation to commit to divest the university’s $42 billion endowment from fossil fuels now. By divesting from the fossil fuel industry, Harvard can send a powerful signal of its willingness to truly take on the climate crisis, eroding Big Oil’s social and political legitimacy as a first step toward building a just and stable future and combat the primary barrier to implementing bold policy for a just and stable future.
So, what do We want?
We want the Corporation and CCSR to start operating democratically, in a way that embodies the Harvard motto of veritas and reflects the values of its students, faculty, alumni, staff, and broader community members. That means engaging in open and regular discussion with all of the aforementioned groups and anyone impacted by Harvard’s investments. It also means holding all of Harvard’s investors, including all of the external managers with whom Harvard works to manage its endowment, to the highest ethical standards. As a baseline, this means divesting from an industry whose business models fail to align with climate science and violate human rights.
How can I get involved?
You can use our action guide to help support our campaign whether or not you’re affiliated with Harvard, including by sharing your thoughts directly with the Harvard Corporation and spreading the word on social media.