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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:University of Minnesota
Date submitted:August 30, 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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Environmentaland SocialResolutions
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CorporateGovernance
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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We ask that our investment managers handle the details of proxy voting.
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We provide our investment managers with general guidelines that determine our proxy votes.
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We provide our investment managers with specific guidelines that determine our proxy votes.
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A member of our school administration determines our proxy votes.
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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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If you provide investment managers with specific corporate governance, environmental, or social guidelines, please attach them or provide a URL below:
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Resolutions and other information: http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/committees/soccon.html
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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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Social Concerns Committee
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Number of meetings held since August 2009:
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6
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Name of chair(s):
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Timothy Sheldon
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Position of chair (e.g., administrator, faculty, staff, student):
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Research Associate
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To whom does the committee report (e.g., Trustee Committee, President, Vice President):
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Advises President and Senior Academic Officers
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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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3
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Number of faculty on committee:
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7
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Number of staff on committee:
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3
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Number of students on committee:
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7
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Number of trustees on committee:
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Total number of committee members:
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23
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Additional comments: 3 academic professional members and and others to be named .Charge: http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/charges/socconch.htmlMembership:http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/committees/soccon.html
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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
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Senior administrators and select individuals
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Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company-specific level
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All members of the school community
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Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company-specific level
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The public per open records law
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Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company-specific level
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The general public
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Votes cast on proxy resolutions on a company-specific level
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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 sent to individuals upon request
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Corporate governance resolutions
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Information is sent to individuals upon request
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General public
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Environmental and social resolutions
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Information is sent to individuals upon request
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Corporate governance resolutions
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Information is sent to individuals upon request
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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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Asset allocation
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[X]
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[X]
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[X]
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[X]
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[X]
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List of external managers
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[X]
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List of mutual funds
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[X]
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Equity holdings
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[X]
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Fixed income holdings
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[X]
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Real estate holdings
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[X]
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Hedge fund holdings
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[X]
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Private equity holdings
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[X]
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Venture capital holdings
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[X]
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Natural resource holdings
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[X]
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Cash
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[X]
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[X]
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[X]
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[X]
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[X]
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Other holdings (specify below)
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All holdings
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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 sent to individuals upon request
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General public
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Information is sent to individuals upon request
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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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On-campus energy and/or water efficiency projects through the endowment (as an investment and not a payout)
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[X]
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Community development financial institutions or community development loan funds
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Description: Local community development financial institutions do not have the capacity to manage large flow and complex transactions and therefore are not part of the current investment mix.
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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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Description: While there is no formal policy regarding considering environmental/ sustainability factors, there are general practices with founded in the Board of Regents Energy Efficiency and Sustainability policy and Social Concerns Committee. The Assets management team proactively reviews investments against available lists (Sudan divestment, for example) and communicate as appropriate to ensure investors are aware to steer clear of certain investments not consistent with university values and ethics.
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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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Description: Description:The Foundation (not managed by the university) receives some donations designated for environmental and sustainability factors. On a separate note, a socially responsible investment fund is available for retirement savings plans as an alternative for faculty and professional and academic staff.
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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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$827,215,000
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September 30, 2009
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$861,397,000
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December 31, 2009
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$868,429,000
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March 31, 2010
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$861,328,000
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June 30, 2010
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