Leading by Example
The list of Shareholder Engagement Leaders is comprised of 21 schools that earned "A" grades in this category. Below is a sample of 10 very different institutions that all qualified for the list. These summaries are based on data from each school’s profile page.
At Clark University, a committee (consisting of three students, three faculty, four trustees, one staff, and one alumnus) deliberates, and makes recommendations or decisions, on proxy votes.
Students, faculty, and alumni serve on Columbia University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, which makes proxy voting recommendations to the board. The committee also hosts an annual town hall meeting at which the school community can voice its opinion on issues facing the committee or on issues that the committee should address.
At Earlham College, a committee (consisting of three trustees, three faculty members, and three student representatives) deliberates, and makes recommendations or decisions, on proxy votes.
Harvard University has two committees to assist the university in addressing its ethical responsibilities as a large institutional investor: the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (CCSR) and the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility (ACSR), which includes faculty, students, and alumni. The CCSR publishes an annual report that provides details on the work of the two committees.
The Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR) at Smith College, created in 1979, formulates guidelines for Smith’s money managers to follow when voting proxies. The CIR consists of two students, two faculty, two administrators, and two members from the board of trustees.
Swarthmore College’s Committee on Investor Responsibility (CIR) serves as advisor to the Investment Committee of the board of managers, and consists of four students, three staff, and two members of the board’s Investment Committee. The CIR prepares proxy recommendations on social and environmental issues and has filed several shareholder resolutions.
The Social Concerns Committee of the University of Minnesota annually reviews all shareholder resolutions concerning social issues for which the university holds stock and recommends votes for these resolutions. The Social Concerns Committee includes academic, alumni, civil service, faculty, and student representatives.
The University of Vermont has a committee composed of two representatives each from the staff, faculty, alumni, students, and trustees, plus one administrator. The committee makes recommendations to the Budget, Finance, and Investment Committee of the board of trustees. The board has always accepted the recommendations of the committee.
The Campus Investment Responsibility Committee at Vassar College includes two students, two alumni, two faculty members, and two administrators. It makes recommendations to a trustee investor responsibility committee on shareholder resolutions, policy statements, and other actions as appropriate. This process is recognized in the college’s by-laws and has been in existence for many years.
The Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility at Williams College deliberates, and makes recommendations or decisions, on proxy votes. The committee is comprised of two members from each of the following groups: faculty, administrators, students, and alumni.