Stanford trustees shoot down student demands for divestment
Stanford's Board of Trustees said that divesting would violate the school’s investment rules.
Stanford officially holds a neutral position on the Israel-Hamas conflict
Stanford University’s Board of Trustees recently rejected a proposal by the school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter (SJP) which demanded that the school pull all of its investments from certain companies that support or are tied to Israel.
In a letter to SJP, the trustees said that their decision to maintain the school’s current financial positions stemmed from pre-existing principles guiding the school’s investments, including a commitment to abstain from using the school’s endowment as an instrument for social change.
“The university strives to provide a forum for the exchange of diverse perspectives among members of its community,” the board wrote. “However, as cited in the Board’s Statement on Investment Responsibility, ‘Just as the University does not take positions on partisan or political issues, the Trustees maintain a strong presumption against using the endowment as an instrument to advance any particular social or political agenda.’ It further provides that the Trustees ‘may choose to take no action on a request if an issue is divisive within the campus community.’”
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The Board also stated that Stanford officially maintains a neutral position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“These divisions of opinion are understandable given the weight and depth of the issues involved in the conflict in Gaza,” the board said. “Our decision neither minimizes the importance of the issues raised by the conflict, nor condones the actions of any of the parties involved in the conflict. Rather, it recognizes the role of the university as a place focused on the creation and transmission of knowledge and where, regarding issues in the world, we seek to hear all viewpoints rather than to impose a university viewpoint.”
The Board’s decision to deny SJP’s demands comes in the wake of recent moves by Stanford to enshrine academic freedom.
Last month, the Board passed a resolution in which it reaffirmed the school’s commitment to “the avoidance of institutional orthodoxy,” stressing that the university must avoid biasing itself toward any one view in order to facilitate academic freedom.
“Stanford remains steadfast in its dedication to academic freedom, which serves as a key foundation for the university’s truth-seeking scholarship and impactful research,” said board Chair Jerry Yang. “We are immensely grateful for the Faculty Senate’s deliberations earlier this year on this critically important issue, which benefits our entire university community and beyond.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Stanford for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.