The Missouri Students Association passed a resolution Tuesday calling for the University of Missouri System to divest its endowment funds from all fossil fuel companies by 2022 and provide financial support to the renewable energy sector.
The Mizzou Energy Action Coalition, a divestment-focused campus organization, submitted the resolution. Frankie Hawkins, the president of the coalition, said the university has a responsibility to address environmental issues.
“The main drive for us has been recognizing that climate change is already impacting people across the world and will continue to get worse,” Hawkins said. “With the current political climate, we really feel that it's important for our institution to be able to step up and do something about this.”
The University of Missouri's endowment is estimated to be worth approximately $1.5 billion. The Mizzou Energy Action Coalition claims that of this, about $10 million is invested directly in fossil fuel companies.
University of Missouri System spokesman John Fougere says he can’t confirm that number because the UM System doesn’t track individual investments in specific categories like fossil fuels.
“We hire external managers, and they have discretion to make investment decisions within their respective mandates to make sure that the university is getting the best return on investments,” Fougere said. “The university is not involved in decisions to buy or sell individual investment securities.”
Although Fougere said the resolution submitted by the Missouri Students Association is currently not on the agenda for the Board of Curators meeting next week, President Mun Choi plans to formally discuss this topic with students in May.