Brown votes against divesting from Israel
Brown’s leadership promised to consider divestment as part of negotiations with student protesters.
The Brown Corporation determined that divestment ‘would greatly jeopardize’ the university’s mission.
The Corporation of Brown University voted against a proposal to divest from companies with financial ties to Israel.
Divestment from Israel is a central demand of anti-Israel activists.
Brown’s Corporation, the university’s governing body, voted on Tuesday against the divestment proposal, which was made by the anti-Israel group Brown Divest Coalition, the school announced. The school had promised to consider the divestment proposal as part of negotiations to end a student protest this summer.
[RELATED: ‘DISGRACEFUL’: Rep. Virginia Foxx condemns Columbia for failing to discipline anti-Israel students who caused campus chaos]
In particular, the activists wanted Brown to cut ties with 10 firms that they see as helping “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territory.”
The university’s Advisory Committee on University Resources Management (ACURM) recommended that Brown not divest. The anti-divestment vote was 8 to 2, with one member of the committee abstaining.
ACURM is an “advisory body to the president of Brown University that considers how ethical and moral standards are applied across all of Brown’s business and investment practices in a manner consistent with the University’s mission and values.”
“In particular, Corporation members noted ACURM’s finding that Brown’s exposure to the 10 companies identified in the divestment proposal is de minimis, that Brown has no direct investments in any of the companies targeted for divestment and that any indirect exposure for Brown in these companies is so small that it could not be directly responsible for social harm, as defined in ACURM’s charge. These findings alone are sufficient reason to support ACURM’s recommendation,” Brown announced.
Corporation members were persuaded by the recommendation of the ACURM report, which the school called “thorough and thoughtful.” The members especially noted that “ACURM considered a wide range of perspectives, informed by presentations from students in support of and in opposition to divestment, written submissions from multiple parties and numerous perspectives expressed at open listening sessions by members of the Brown community.”
At its vote, the Corporation “reaffirmed that Brown’s mission is to discover, communicate and preserve knowledge. It is not to adjudicate or resolve global conflicts.” It determined that divestment “would greatly jeopardize” Brown’s mission.
On Aug. 26, twenty-four Republican Governors sent a letter to Brown Corporation warning of the potential legal consequences for divesting.
Campus Reform contacted Brown University for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
