Reports from the Task Force on Divestment
April 20, 2015
Greetings,
On behalf of the Task Force on Divestment I am pleased to share with you our final report. This report (mercifully briefer than our “Phase 1” Report) outlines our recommendations concerning the issue of fossil fuel divestment. To that end, I would remind you of the original charge given to the Task Force:
“Upon completion of its work, to issue a report to the Board of Trustees and the Skidmore College community, understanding that any recommendations would not be binding upon the Trustees or the Administration.”
We believe our recommendations to be both financially prudent and consistent with our institutional values; we have every reason to believe that they will be carefully considered by the Board at its May meetings.
I would like to thank all the members of the Task Force (listed below), not only for their hard work, but for the spirit of openness with which they approached it. The Task Force would also like to thank all those members of the Skidmore community who shared their thoughts and opinions, either in person at our community meetings, via email, phone, or via the divestment website. Your thoughtful insights, questions, and suggestions made our discussions richer and, we hope, more productive. Finally, sincere thanks to the President’s Office, particularly Jessica Gitchel and Joshua Woodfork, for their administrative support and good cheer.
All the best,
Jim Kennelly
Chair, Task Force on Divestment
Task Force Membership
Faculty
- James Kennelly, Professor of Management and Business (Chair)
- Pat Oles, Associate Professor of Social Work
- Robert Turner, Associate Professor of Government
Staff
- Kyle Bernard, Controller, Director of Financial Services and Associate Treasurer
- Karen Kellogg, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Infrastructure, Sustainability and Civic Engagement (Vice-Chair)
- Levi Rogers, Sustainability Coordinator
Students
- Jessica Aleman '15
- Brian Fredericks '16
- Madeleine Welsch '17
Trustee
- Charles B. Buchanan