UO gets a 'B'

Correction appended

Despite regarding the University of Oregon as an “environmental leader” among colleges, the Sustainable Endowments Institute has given it no more than a “B” on its College Sustainability Report Card.

The culprit? According to the Institute's data, the lack of transparency concerning the University’s investments.

The Sustainability Endowment gave the University an “A” in six categories: “Administration,” “Climate Change and Energy,” “Food & Recycling,” “Student
Involvement,” “Transportation,” and “Investment Priorities.” It gave the school a “B” on “Green Building.”

But the endowment also gave the University a “D” for “Endowment Transparency” and an “F” for “Shareholder Engagement.”

To compile its survey data, the Endowment sent questionnaires to University Director of Sustainability Steve Mital, Director of Food Services Tom Driscoll, Chief Investment Officer Jay Namyet and student environmental advocate Daniel Rottenberg.

It was Namyet’s information, which related to the University’s endowment, that pushed down the University’s score, leading the Institute to conclude, “The University of Oregon Foundation does not make its endowment holdings public.”

Sustainable Endowments Institute spokesperson Chryslyn Pais said despite its ranking, she still viewed the University as an “environmental leader.”

However, she said endowment transparency is an important aspect of campus
sustainability because it allows environmental stakeholders a say in the process of allocating funds. A statement on the Institute’s Web site read: “Access to endowment information is needed within a college community to foster constructive dialogue about opportunities for clean energy investment, as well as shareholder voting priorities.”

University spokesperson Julie Brown said the score was little cause for concern.

“My understanding is that ... getting low marks is something that’s rather common among many universities,” she said.

Nearly 50 percent of schools received a “D” or “F” for that part of the ranking.

University’s Sustainability Report Card

• Administration: A
• Climate Change & Energy: A
•  Food & Recycling: A
• Green Building: B
• Student Involvement: A
• Transportation: A
• Endowment Transparency: D
• Investment Priorities: A
• Shareholder Engagement: F

atomchak@dailyemerald.com

Due to a reporter's error, the original version of this article misnamed the organization that published the ranking. That organization is called the Sustainable Endowment Institution.

2 comments

usual suspect

Thu Oct 15 2009 00:40

The subject of the transparency of UO contracting and finances and access to UO Foundation records are rarely explored by the media. If there were more details about this investigated by the press UO would eventually be a much better school.

Hope Marston

Thu Oct 8 2009 16:30

I read in the Daily Emerald today, a quote from University spokesperson Julie Brown explaining that the University's low sustainability score in terms of endowment transparency was nothing to worry about, because it's "rather common among many universities."

It is patently absurd to say that something is not a problem just because it's a prevalent problem. Lack of transparency, which prevents the public scrutiny, is a problem, and just saying "everybody else is doing it" does not absolve the university from its responsibility to the community.

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out