March 10, 2020

University of Denver Chancellor Rejects Divestment, Again

For a second time in three years, the University of Denver announced its rejection of divestment. According to the DU Clarion, University Chancellor Jeremy Haefner sent a letter to the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) that DU will not divest from fossil fuels. The announcement comes after the USG passed a bill in October asking DU and Haefner to sever ties with the fossil fuel industry.

Just a couple of years ago, DU went through an extensive process to deliberate whether divestment from fossil fuels was the right path forward for the University, and ultimately decided against it.

Back in 2016, the University created a Divestment Task Force to explore the question of fossil fuel divestment; their report, which was released in January 2017, concluded divestment is not an effective means of mitigating climate change and that it is not consistent with the endowment’s long-term purpose to provide enduring benefit to stakeholders.

The Board’s report from 2017 states:

“A strategy of industry stigmatization drives a wedge between the University of Denver and the fossil fuel companies that represent an important part of the economic base of Colorado and the nation. Equally important, stigmatizing fossil fuel companies inherently involves stigmatization of their employees as well. As a general matter, the panel believes that stigmatizing individuals based upon a career choice to work for an employer engaged in a lawful enterprise is inappropriate.”

DU saw divestment for what it is, a symbolic gesture that does not impact that environment in any conceivable positive way.

“Regarding divestment, the Board adopted the task force recommendation that divestment in fossil fuel companies, or any other industry, would not be an effective means of mitigating global warming nor would it be consistent with the endowment’s long-term purpose to provide enduring benefit to present and future students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders.”

Instead of pursuing divestment, the University of Denver decided to pursue the route of strategic partnerships to address issues of climate change and sustainable development through academics.

To date, none of the major universities in the oil-abundant state of Colorado have decided to divest. Several campuses actually shut down operations because of lack of interest.  Others, like the flagship University of Colorado, Boulder, faced their own board rejections.

Around the time of DU’s divestment decision, the Denver Post put out an Editorial calling divestment “unrealistic and unwise.”

“One DU student involved in the 350.org effort said at a recent forum that the students’ goal isn’t to stigmatize fellow students who go on to fossil-fuel careers, but to persuade energy companies to switch to green energy. That sounds really great, but it’s completely unrealistic to think that our state, our nation or other others can immediately stop depending on the plentiful fossil fuels available to provide the power we need to live the lives to which we are accustomed. It would be cruel to poor and hardworking people in our country and impoverished nations beyond our borders to do so.”

The DU Chancellor’s continued dissent with divestment shows the importance of opting for creating viable solutions to addressing climate change, and not empty gestures for the sake of generating headlines.

Learn more from Divestment Facts on the divestment debate that has taken place at DU over the past several years:

• Reject 350.org’s ‘Shallow and Misleading’ Divestment Campaign, Denver Post Columnist Tells DU (1/9/17)

• Things are Looking Grim for Fossil-Fuel Divestment Activists in Colorado (12/21/16)

• Colorado Leaders to DU: Don’t Divest From Fossil Fuels (12/16/16)

• Divestment Facts Rolls Out New Web Video in Denver (12/15/16)

• The University of Denver’s Divestment Debate: What Have We Learned So Far? (10/6/16)