This piece reflects the views of the author, Jack Dodson, and not those of Emerald Media Group. It has been edited by the Emerald for grammar and style. Send your columns or submissions about our content or campus issues to [email protected].
The UO Foundation, which manages the $2.8 billion endowment of the University of Oregon, has been lying to us for 8 years. In June of 2016, Paul Weinhold, President and CEO of the UO Foundation, claimed, “We have one percent invested in carbon-based energy […] We don’t have any direct investments [in fossil fuels].”
In September 2016, the UO Foundation promised to let those investments “expire without renewal, ending our investment in carbon-based fuel sources,” though it wouldn’t divest immediately, citing complications with existing agreements.
This announcement came after years of pressure from students, faculty, staff and the greater Eugene community.
Students won divestment! Well, not exactly. The Foundation’s investments still weren’t publicly visible, meaning people had to trust UO to keep its promise.
In 2021, students pressured the Foundation for an update. In a resulting Daily Emerald interview with Weinhold, he said fossil fuel investments were “literally a fraction of what we had in 2016.”
In 2023, when the investments should have ended, the Foundation’s website said “Currently, less than 5% of the Foundation’s direct holdings are invested in fossil fuel extraction and all remaining direct investments will expire by 2027.” It still says that today.
Today, it says less than 5% is invested in fossil fuel extraction and it will expire by 2027.
President Scholz speaks about maximizing the Foundation’s returns, however, divesting from fossil fuels does not mean losing money.
Furthermore, investing in fossil fuels is incredibly costly in the long term, as it funds greenhouse-gas emitting projects that worsen climate change.
The fight for divestment is not over. The UO Foundation must disclose its investments.
The UO community must pressure the Foundation to divest and disclose, as Foundation leaders will resist any change. Let’s make UO better, and make the world better in the process.
– Jack Dodson, UO student, Climate Justice League steering committee member, Fossil Free UO campaign co-lead