AU does not have a policy on divestment from companies with ties to the Darfur region of Sudan unlike some universities that have recently implemented such policies, according to David Taylor, chief of staff to Interim President Neil Kerwin.
The finance and investment committee of the board of trustees oversees and works with the office of finance and the administration on the university's investment portfolio. A group of portfolio management companies manages the funds the university invests in, Taylor said.
Alex Meixner, communications and legislative coordinator for the Save Darfur Coalition, said divestment is a "voluntary sanction on the part of private industry."
New Jersey, Illinois and Louisiana have passed laws pledging divestment from companies tied to Darfur, according to Meixner. American universities such as Stanford, Yale and Harvard have also divested from such companies.
George Parker, a Stanford professor who was a member of the panel that submitted a report leading to the decision of Stanford's board of trustees, said the initial call for divestment came from student members of the group Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, or STAND.
Students prepared a 20-page, confidential report for the committee about the situation, he said in an e-mail.
"It was an impressive document that demonstrated lots of homework," Parker said
The recommendation for divestment had to show that the actions of the companies to be divested were serious enough not to be ignored and that there was consensus among the university community about the offensive nature of the actions, Parker said.
Not all universities are considering divestment from companies connected to Darfur. The George Washington University's administration has not submitted to calls for divestment from GW's STAND chapter. Administration members have said they do not know if the university holds investments with ties to the region because GW's investment work is outsourced to private companies, according to The GW Hatchet, the university's independent student newspaper.
Taylor said working with contracted portfolio management companies makes deciding issues like divestment difficult.
Leigh Riddick, associate professor of finance at Kogod, said any restriction of investment options lowers an investor's chances of finding higher return with lower risk.
"You are never better off with fewer choices," Riddick said in an e-mail.
However, many investors have done well with such restrictions and individuals and institutions divested from apartheid South Africa amid great support, she said.
AU divested from companies tied to Burma in the late '90s after reports of human rights violations in the country, Taylor said. According to Meixner, two benefits for institutions that divest are the direct economic cost to the affected party and the public relations value. Universities that divest may influence alumni in the government to examine the issue more closely.
Some institutions may not recognize the long-term value of divestment, Meixner said.
"It's one of those things where the value may not be immediately clear," he said.
A rebellion began in the Darfur province of Sudan in 2003 when African rebel groups attacked military installations, according to PBS.org. The Janjaweed - armed northern nomads - attacked villages that supposedly harbored rebels in retaliation. The Sudanese government is alleged to support the Janjaweed, although President Omar al-Bashir denies this, according to PBS.org.
Darfur Action, an AU group founded last February to raise awareness and funds for the region, is still considering divestment options for AU, said Sarah Brennan, co-president of the group, in an e-mail. The group will discuss the issue and possible courses of action at future events, she said.
There is an increasing awareness about the genocide in the administration, which is monitoring how other universities are handling the issue, Taylor said. From time to time, similar situations reach the stage of board action.
"I don't know if we are there just yet," Taylor said.
