Divest Harvard

Divest Harvard
Name	Divest Harvard
Founded	2012
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Causes	Climate change, Fossil fuel divestment
Methods	Protests, Sit-ins, Campaigning, Civil disobedience

Divest Harvard was a student-led campaign that sought to persuade Harvard University to divest its endowment from fossil fuel companies. Originating amid global activism around climate change, the movement connected to broader efforts such as the 350.org fossil fuel divestment campaign and intersected with student movements at institutions including Yale University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University. The campaign influenced debates among scholars, administrators, trustees, and alumni linked to institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and organizations such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Greenpeace.

Background and Origins

The campaign emerged in the context of earlier financial and environmental activism associated with events like the Occupy Wall Street protests and the global rise of sustainability movements led by groups such as Sierra Club and 350.org. Early organizers drew inspiration from historic divestment efforts against apartheid in South Africa, campaigns targeting Sudan and the Darfur conflict, and student activism at Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School. Key actors included student groups connected to associations like the Harvard Undergraduate Council and networks of activists who had participated in demonstrations at locations such as Fossil Free chapters and local coalitions in Boston. The broader intellectual milieu referenced scholars affiliated with Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences who wrote on climate policy and finance, and public figures including alumni from Harvard College who weighed in through media outlets such as The Boston Globe and The New York Times.

Campaign Goals and Demands

Organizers articulated clear demands framed around fiduciary responsibility, ethical investment, and climate justice. They called on Harvard’s governing bodies, notably the Harvard Corporation (also known as the President and Fellows of Harvard College) and the Harvard Management Company, to adopt a policy of divestment from companies involved in coal, oil sands, tar sands, and Arctic drilling operations. The campaign linked its platform to international policy instruments and events such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the annual Conference of the Parties negotiations. Demands often referenced institutional commitments made by peer organizations like the University of California system and foundations including the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation that had shifted endowment strategies for social or environmental reasons.

Tactics and Protests

Tactics included sit-ins, occupations, public demonstrations, teach-ins, and targeted lobbying directed at trustees and administrators. Notable actions mirrored civil disobedience traditions seen in movements like the Civil Rights Movement and protests at sites connected to energy companies such as ExxonMobil and BP. Students organized encampments, staged demonstrations in Harvard Yard and in front of buildings associated with the Harvard Management Company, and coordinated with national campaigns organized by groups like 350.org and Friends of the Earth. Media coverage involved outlets such as The Harvard Crimson, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, while sympathetic faculty and alumni sometimes testified at meetings of governing bodies or engaged via op-eds in publications like The Atlantic and The Guardian.

Responses from Harvard University

Harvard’s administration, including presidents from the offices of figures such as Drew Faust and later leaders, responded through statements by the Harvard Corporation and actions by the Harvard Management Company, citing considerations of fiduciary duty and investment performance. The university’s responses referenced consultations with trustees, alumni boards, and external advisors including firms in Boston and New York City. Debates within Harvard involved faculty across divisions such as Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Kennedy School, and elicited public commentary from scholars and administrators about ethical investing, endowment returns, and educational priorities. Administrators sometimes negotiated with student organizers, producing agreements or temporary concessions while maintaining institutional governance prerogatives.

Legal and Administrative Developments

The campaign stimulated legal and administrative scrutiny concerning endowment management, trustee responsibilities, and the legal doctrine governing charitable trusts similar to cases heard in courts addressing the discretion of universities. Administrative reviews involved consultations with investment committees and outside fiduciary advisors, and prompted policy statements from governing bodies comparable to decisions at institutions like Princeton University and Yale University. Arrests of protesters at occupations led to municipal and campus disciplinary proceedings invoking municipal police in Cambridge, Massachusetts and internal university conduct processes. The controversy intersected with alumni governance mechanisms and influenced discussions in state legislative and municipal forums in Massachusetts.

Impact and Outcomes

Although Harvard did not immediately adopt a comprehensive divestment policy mirroring some peer institutions, the campaign influenced endowment transparency, accelerated discussions about sustainable investing, and contributed to shifts in investor behavior and university policies nationwide. The movement helped catalyze research on climate risk in finance produced by faculty at Harvard Business School and scholars associated with university centers tied to public policy and environmental studies, and it encouraged other universities and foundations, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and several religious institutions, to reconsider investment practices. The campaign also left a legacy in the form of continued student activism, ongoing dialogues between trustees and stakeholders, and enhanced prominence of climate issues within higher education networks such as the Association of American Universities and environmental coalitions like Sierra Club.

Category:Environmental movements Category:Student activism Category:Harvard University