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With the publication of the College Sustainability Report Card 2011, 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 2010. 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.
School name: Middlebury College
Date submitted: August 25, 2010
For each question, please choose the response that best represents the endowment policies at your institution. If you cannot find information for a particular question, please leave that question blank.
1) How does your school handle proxy voting on environmental, social, and governance issues? Check all that apply.
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Environmental and Social Resolutions
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Corporate Governance
Resolutions
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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).
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[X]
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[X]
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We ask that our investment managers handle the details of proxy voting.
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[ ]
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[ ]
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We provide our investment managers with general guidelines that determine our proxy votes.
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[ ]
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We provide our investment managers with specific guidelines that determine our proxy votes.
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[ ]
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[ ]
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A member of our school administration determines our proxy votes.
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[ ]
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A committee of administrators and/or trustees deliberates and makes decisions on proxy votes.
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A committee that includes student representatives deliberates and makes recommendations or decisions on proxy votes.
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[X]
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[X]
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School community feedback is incorporated into proxy voting decisions through town hall meetings or a website.
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[ ]
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[ ]
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If you provide investment managers with specific corporate governance, environmental, or social guidelines, please attach them or provide a URL below:
If your school has a committee that offers recommendations or makes decisions on proxy voting, please provide information below.
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Name of committee:
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Committee for Socially Responsible Investment (ACSRI).
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Number of meetings held since August 2009:
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~ 15 - 20
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Name of chair(s):
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n/a
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Position of chair (e.g., administrator, faculty, staff, student):
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n/a
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To whom does the committee report (e.g., Trustee Committee, President, Vice President):
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Investment Committee
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Number of administrators on committee:
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1
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Number of alumni on committee:
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1
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Number of faculty on committee:
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1
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Number of staff on committee:
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0
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Number of students on committee:
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4-5
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Number of trustees on committee:
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0
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Total number of committee members:
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7-8
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Additional comments: 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 developed a recommendation to the Investment Committee to establish a Sustainable Investments Initiative which would invest in renewable energy and environmentally progressive companies. The recommendationn was accepted and has been implemented. http://www.middlebury.edu/newsroom/archive/2010/node/255685
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2) Please indicate what information about proxy voting records is made available to each of the groups listed.
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Information made available
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Trustees
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Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company- specific level, including the number of shares
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Senior administrators and select individuals
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Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company- specific level, including the number of shares
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All members of the school community
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The public per open records law
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The general public
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3) Where is information about proxy voting records made available to the school community and general public?
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Where information is made available
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School community
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Environmental and social resolutions
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Information is available at the investment office or similar office on campus
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Corporate governance resolutions
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Information is available at the investment office or similar office on campus
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General public
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Environmental and social resolutions
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Information is available at the investment office or similar office on campus
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Corporate governance resolutions
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Information is available at the investment office or similar office on campus
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4) Please indicate what information about endowment holdings is made available to each of the groups listed.
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Trustees
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Senior administrators and select individuals
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Entire school community
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General public per open records law
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General public
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No information made available
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Asset allocation
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[ ]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[X]
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List of external managers
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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List of mutual funds
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Equity holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Fixed income holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Real estate holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Hedge fund holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Private equity holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Venture capital holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Natural resource holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Cash
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Other holdings (specify below)
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[ ]
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[ ]
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All holdings
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[X]
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[X]
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[ ]
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[ ]
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Please specify other holdings, if any.
5) Please indicate where information about endowment holdings is made available to the school community and the general public.
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Where information is made available
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School community
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Information is on the school website and is accessible to the public
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General public
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Information is on the school website and is accessible to the public
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6) Is your school currently invested and/or exploring investment in any of the following areas? Please check all that apply.
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Currently
invested
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Exploring
investment
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Renewable energy funds or similar investment vehicles
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[X]
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[ ]
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On-campus energy and/or water efficiency projects through the endowment (as an investment and not a payout)
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[ ]
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[X]
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Community development financial institutions or community development loan funds
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[X]
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[ ]
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Description: The College has entered into a ten-year contingent contract to purchase bio methane from a local bio methane producer using manure from nearby dairy farms. The use of this bio-methane to fuel the college cogeneration plant and college vehicles would displace a significant portion of the College's carbon emissions. The College is exploring an endowment co-investment in these bio methane facilities - as well as help to market this investment opportunity to donors, alums, and friends of the college. As this is a new and emerging industry we expect the college's leadership in this area to help stimulate more investment in alternative fuels like bio methane - and as the case with bio methane would help reduce carbon emissions and provide much needed support to the dairy industry and the local economy. http://www.middlebury.edu/newsroom/node/255394
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7) Does your school have any investment policy provisions, or use any investment managers, that consider environmental/sustainability factors? If so, or if currently under consideration, please describe below.
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Yes
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Description: Middlebury recently established a Sustainable Investments Initiative through Investure - its outsourced investment manager. Several other Investure clients invested in this initiative as well. Middlebury College has committed $4 million to the Initiative with a goal of raising an additional $4 million to invest in this initiative. The expectation is that the College will continue to increase its allocation to the this separate tranche within our endowement - with a longer-term plan of incorporating sustainable practices within all investment decision making. The philosophy behind this approach is that we believe it will ultimately be more effective to direct investments and money managers to actively identify and invest in opportunities that are proactively working toward sustainability than voting proxies which, while important, tend to have limited impact. This initiative also provides us with direct involvement in the criteria for selecting sustainability investments and in tracking the social, environmental and economic performance of our investments.All investments made through the Initiative will undergo Investure’s strict due diligence and be made with a comprehensive understanding of the risk and reward of each specific strategy. High quality companies and management teams that have taken a long-term approach to managing the economic, environmental, and social aspects of business will make up the core of the Initiative. In addition, the Initiative will seek investments focused specifically on sustainability issues such as clean energy, water, climate science, and green building projects, in an effort to identify businesses positioned to become a part of the worldwide shift to improve energy efficiency, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and mitigate the effects of global climate change. http://www.middlebury.edu/newsroom/archive/2010/node/255685
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8) Does your school offer donors the option of directing gifts to an investment fund that considers environmental/sustainability factors? If so, or if currently under consideration, please describe below.
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Yes
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Description: Donors can direct gifts to the newly established Sustainable Investments Initiative described above. In addition, they can make gifts to the Colleges Green Fund which is dedicated to supporting campus sustainability initiatives and is currently at about $8.5 million.
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9) Please provide total endowment market value as of the following dates:
Please provide the endowment market value rather than the endowment book value.
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Total endowment value
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June 30, 2009
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$696,000,000
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September 30, 2009
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$761,000,000
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December 31, 2009
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$792,000,000
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March 31, 2010
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$807,000,000
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June 30, 2010
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$798,000,000
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