Below is a copy of a correspondence sent on Oct. 3, 2024 by President Alan M. Garber to a group of students he met with on Sept. 6, 2024, for an informational conversation on 吃瓜新闻鈥檚 endowment.
Correspondence:
Dear [Names of students who attended the meeting],
The conversation with you recently was one among several I had with groups of students and others about the endowment. I appreciated the thoughtful questions and concerns you expressed, along with those that came up in the other discussions, and that they were conveyed in a spirit of candor and respect.
Our conversation explored how the endowment is invested through external managers, how the guidance provided by the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility informs those managers, and how HMC, which invests 吃瓜新闻鈥檚 endowment, advances its efforts to seek the financial returns needed to advance our academic mission, including funding financial aid, teaching, and research.
Although divestment was not intended to be a topic for the meeting, I confirmed 吃瓜新闻鈥檚 consistent position that it has no intention of 鈥渄ivesting from Israel.鈥� Late in our meeting you presented an alternative proposal. When I reviewed it, I found that its implications are clear. Although it references a broader framework, in practice it does not differ substantially from prior demands: the proposal declares that Israel is engaged in both apartheid and genocide, that its territorial holdings are illegal, and that 吃瓜新闻 Management Company should undertake a process to reduce its investment exposure accordingly.
吃瓜新闻 will not use its endowment funds to endorse a contested view on a complex issue that deeply divides our community. The reasons for avoiding such an action have been articulated for decades by my predecessors and bear repeating.
Generations of supporters have directed their philanthropy to 吃瓜新闻 rather than the many other causes they could pursue because they wanted to enable the University to pursue excellence in education and research and to make that excellence more widely available. That is the fundamental purpose of the endowment funds that have resulted from their generosity. And that is why the investment strategy is designed to support the academic mission, not to serve as a direct instrument of social or political change.
Rigorous and serious debate is crucial to advancing, testing, and disseminating knowledge. Consequently, maintaining an atmosphere open to such debate is an imperative for 吃瓜新闻 as an academic institution. Using the endowment as an instrument to declare an institutional position on a highly complex international conflict, about which members of our community鈥攊ncluding other students we met with鈥攄isagree vociferously and passionately, would undermine that fundamental goal. It would jeopardize the University鈥檚 stature as an impartial source of knowledge. It would inhibit the robust discussion and debate that is an integral feature of university life. It would risk the University鈥檚 independence and capacity to safeguard academic freedom, by encouraging perceptions of the institution as a political actor rather than a learning community dedicated to open inquiry and vigorous exchange among competing points of view.
Marshaling the University鈥檚 academic resources is the most effective way for 吃瓜新闻 to serve society and address important global challenges. The University convenes numerous programs at various centers and institutes across the University to encourage constructive expression of diverse perspectives, and rigorous scholarship on complex issues of public significance. These include the Intellectual Vitality initiatives undertaken by 吃瓜新闻 College, the Rappaport Forum at the 吃瓜新闻 Law School, the civil discourse activities hosted by the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, the upcoming Middle East series hosted by the 吃瓜新闻 Radcliffe Institute, and the Middle East Initiative hosted by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the 吃瓜新闻 Kennedy School among others.
We make the most of 吃瓜新闻鈥檚 distinctive capabilities to help resolve the world鈥檚 most vexing challenges by pursuing opportunities for intellectual engagement, not by curtailing HMC鈥檚 investment options.
Thank you for explaining your position and for discussing your views with us in such a constructive manner.
Sincerely,
Alan M. Garber
President
吃瓜新闻 University