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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2010, more than 1,100 school survey responses from over 300 institutions are now available online. In total, these surveys offer more than 10,000 pages of data collected from colleges and universities during the summer of 2009. To access surveys from other schools, go to the surveys section of the website. To see grades, or to access additional surveys submitted by this school, please click the "Back to Report Card" link at the beginning or end of the survey.
Name: Jack Byrne
Title: Director, Sustainability Integration Office
Date Survey Submitted: July 23, 2009
1) How does your school handle proxy voting on environmental, social, and governance issues?
(a) We do not have the ability to vote proxies as the entire equity holdings of the endowment are invested in mutual funds (e.g. CommonFund, Fidelity, Vanguard, etc.).
(b) We ask that our investment managers handle the details of proxy voting.
(c) We provide our investment managers with general guidelines that determine our proxy votes.
(d) We provide our investment managers with specific corporate governance guidelines that determine our proxy votes.*
(e) We provide our investment managers with specific environmental and social guidelines that determine our proxy votes.*
(f) A member of our school administration determines our proxy votes.
(g) A committee of administrators and/or trustees deliberates and makes decisions on proxy votes.
(h) A committee that includes student representatives deliberates and makes recommendations or decisions on proxy votes.
(i) School community feedback is incorporated into proxy voting decisions through town hall meetings or a website.
Your answers:
Proxy voting on corporate governance matters: A and H
Proxy voting on environmental and social resolutions: A and H
Essentially all of the College's endowment is invested in commingled investment vehicles for which we are not able to vote proxies. For the past several years one manager (terminated in FY 2009) held direct investments (in a concentrated portfolio of 20-30 small cap domestic stocks) for which proxy voting strategies were discussed during the periodic meetings of the Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investment (ACSRI). The ACSRI is currently developing recommendations for the Investment Committee about establishing an Environmental Choice Fund which would invest in renewable energy and environmentally progressive companies.
*Please provide URL or attach guidelines (optional).
2) If you answered "g" or "h" to question 1, please provide the following information about the committe:
Name of committee: Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investment (ACSRI).
Number of meetings held since August 2008: ~ 15 - 20
Name of chair(s): n/a
Position of chair (e.g., administrator, faculty, staff, student): n/a
To whom does the committee report (e.g., Trustee Committee, President, Vice President): Investment Committee
Number of administrators on committee: 1
Number of alumni on committee: 1
Number of faculty on committee: 1
Number of staff on committee: (see administrator above)
Number of students on committee: 4-5
Number of trustees on committee: 0
Total number of committee members: 7-8
3) Please indicate what information about proxy voting records is made available to each of the groups listed under "Your answers" (select all that apply):
(a) No information is made available
(b) Votes cast on proxy resolutions only by category (and not company specific)
(c) Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company-specific level
(d) Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company-specific level, including the number of shares
Your answers: Proxy voting records are made available to the Investment Committee, investment staff, and the ACSRI.
Trustees and senior administrators:
Trustees, senior administrators and other select members of the school community:
All members of the school community including faculty, staff, students and alumni:
The public per open records law:
The public:
4) Where is information about proxy voting records made available?
(a) Information is not made available.
(b) Information is available at the investment office or similar office on campus.
(c) Information is sent to individuals upon request.
(d) Information is on the school website with password protection.
(e) Information is on the school website and is accessible to the public.
Your answers: Past proxy voting records are available in the College Investment Office. The College no longer has the ability to vote proxies due to its participation almost exclusively in commingled investment vehicles.
To the school community.
Proxy voting records on environmental and social resolutions:
Proxy voting records on corporate governance matters:
To the public.
Proxy voting records on environmental and social resolutions:
Proxy voting records on corporate governance matters:
5) Please indicate what information about endowment holdings is made available to each of the groups listed under "Your answers" (select all that apply):
(a) No information is made available
(b) Asset allocation
(c) List of external managers
(d) List of mutual funds
(e) Equity holdings
(f) Fixed income holdings
(g) Real estate holdings
(h) Hedge fund holdings
(i) Private equity holdings
(j) Venture capital holdings
(k) Natural resource holdings
(l) Cash
(m) Other holdings (please specify)
(n) All holdings
Your answers:
Available to trustees (INVESTMENT COMMITTEE) and senior administrators: N
Available to trustees, senior administrators, and other select members of the school community: B
Available to all members of the school community, including faculty, staff, students, and alumni: B
Available to the public per open records law: A
Available to the public: A
Update 9/1/2009 by Jack Byrne:
The College has made a quarterly endowment summary available on our website. The website includes information on:
Asset Allocation & Performance
Investment Policy
Investment Committee Members
Socially Responsible Investment
http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/investment
6) Please indicate where information about endowment holdings is made available to the school community and to the public:
(a) Information is not made available.
(b) Information is available at the investment office or similar office on campus.
(c) Information is sent to individuals upon request.
(d) Information is on the school website with password protection.
(e) Information is on the school website and is accessible to the public.
Your answers:
To the school community:
To the public:
Information on individual endowment holdings is not publicly available. As stated above, the College is in the process of making a quarterly endowment summary available on our website. The information to be made available will include asset allocation, performance, endowment size, and summary-level endowment cash-flows. We expect this information to be available within the next few months.
During these financially challenging times Middlebury has been transparent with its finances. It has set up a Web site to share information about the financial challenges facing the College because of the global economic downturn, and to solicit suggestions from members of the College’s extended family. On this site, the public can find a wealth of information about the College's finances, including magazine articles in Fortune and Middlebury Magazine, FAQs, and video presentations of open sessions held by the College's President and Chief Financial Officer. See link below.
http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/budget/challenge/default.htm
7) Is your school currently invested in any of the following areas? (Please list all that apply.)
(a) Renewable energy funds or similar investment vehicles
(b) Community development financial institutions or community development loan funds
(c) On-campus energy and/or water efficiency projects through the endowment (as an investment and not a payout)
(d) None of the above
Your answer: A
8) Is your school currently exploring investment in any of the following areas? (Please list all that apply.)
(a) Renewable energy funds or similar investment vehicles
(b) Community development financial institutions or community development loan funds
(c) On-campus energy and/or water efficiency projects through the endowment (as an investment and not as a payout)
(d) None of the above
Your answer: A
9) Does your school have any investment policy provisions, or use any investment managers, that consider environmental/sustainability factors?
(a) No
(b) Yes (please describe)
(c) Currently under consideration (please describe)
Your answer: C – see #10
10) Does your school offer donors the option of directing gifts to an investment fund that considers environmental/sustainability factors?
(a) No
(b) Yes (please describe)
(c) Currently under consideration (please describe)
Your answer: C. The College is exploring the possibility of establishing an “Environmental Choice Fund” to which donors could contribute, to be invested according to environmental/sustainability guidelines. In addition, the College established a Green Fund in 2007 to which $8 million has been contributed to be used to support the College’s sustainability initiatives.
The College also has a sustainability related policy to divest and to not invest in companies whose activities support Sudanese government and policies in Darfur, or any other companies that support similar kinds of human rights abuses.
Question 11 is for informational purposes only; responses will NOT be included in the Report Card evaluation process.
11) Please provide total endowment value as of the following dates:
6/30/2008: $885,389,000
9/30/2008: $810,811,000
12/31/2008: $683,786,000
3/31/2009: $648,900,000
6/30/2009 (may be submitted separately at a later date):
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