Smith College
PA-8: Committee on Investor Responsibility

The Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, a subcommittee of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees, advises the Investment Committee (and, through them, the Board of Trustees) on matters of social responsibility and the Smith College endowment. Its role is to consult with the Investment Committee on social issues relevant to investing and thereby ensure the endowment continues to be invested in a manner consistent with—and supportive of—the college's mission and values. The committee's charge is to: -Research, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding current issues and trends related to socially responsible investing -Consult, as appropriate, with individuals and groups among the faculty, students and alumnae so that it can take into account the various points of view within the Smith community regarding investor responsibility -Review, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding Investure's proxy voting principles and practices related to corporate governance and investor responsibility

April H. Foley ’69, Smith College Board of Trustees, chair David DeSwert, Associate Vice President for Finance McKenna Eckerline ’18, student Elliot Fratkin, Professor of Anthropology Michael Howard, Vice President for Finance & Administration Dorie Klein ’17, student Roisin O'Sullivan, Professor of Economics Alison Overseth ’80, Smith College Board of Trustees Debra Romero ’77, Smith College Board of Trustees Elena Palladino, Secretary of the Board of Trustees and Secretary of the College, staff to the committee

The committee began by researching higher education trends in socially responsible investing by compiling peer data, including definitions of social harm and the criteria against which other institutions weigh divestment. The ACIR is currently in the process of analyzing the data and identifying trends and ideas worthy of Smith’s consideration. While researching trends, the committee began developing the principles that will guide socially responsible investing at Smith, now and in the future. The principles will balance Smith’s values and core mission with its fiduciary requirements. This work will be the major focus of upcoming meetings scheduled for 2017. A key component of the committee’s work to date has been identifying options for fossil fuel investment reductions within the current outsourced investment management context. An independent advisor was hired to help the ACIR develop, then conduct, an analysis. The committee discussed a number of options for the analysis, which included a variety of means and breadth of divestment options and the potential impacts of each on the endowment.