Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 75.77
Liaison Ezra Small
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Massachusetts Amherst
PA-8: Committee on Investor Responsibility

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Ezra Small
Sustainability Manager
Physical Plant
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Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) that makes recommendations to fund decision-makers on socially and environmentally responsible investment opportunities across asset classes?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the CIR or other body which reflects social and environmental concerns or a brief description of how the CIR is tasked to address social and environmental concerns:

The University of Massachusetts Foundation Socially Responsible Investing Advisory Committee (SRIAC) is responsible for considering divestment issues raised by students, faculty, alumni and other members of the UMass community. The eight-member Committee, which consists of faculty, administrators, alumni and students, serves as a forum in which social investment issues can be raised, discussed and reviewed. The Committee is responsible for considering proposals brought forth by members of the University community to determine whether they warrant further consideration by the Foundation’s Board of Directors.


Does the CIR include staff representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include faculty representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include student representation?:
Yes

Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role (e.g. student, faculty, staff, alumni):

The SRIAC consists of the following members:
Alumni Representative: David Basile, Senior Vice President/Wealth Management, Janney Montgomery Scott
Alumni Representative and Chair: Stephen Dunne, Managing Director, Private Banking North America, Credit Suisse Securities
Senior Administrator Representative: Christine Wilda, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, UMass President’s Office
Senior Administrator Representative: John Kennedy, Vice Chancellor for University Relations, UMass Amherst
Faculty Representative: Stephen White, Professor of Marketing and International Business, Charlton College of Business, UMass Dartmouth
Faculty Representative: Sharon Cantor, Associate Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, UMass Medical School
Student Representative: Sarah Freudson, UMass Amherst
Student Representative: Nolan O’Brien, UMass Boston


Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:

The UMass Foundation SRIAC was officially established on December 8, 2014.

In 2015, SRIAC received a student petition requesting that the University divest of all its holdings in fossil fuel companies. The Committee met with representatives of the student group and researched the issue over several months before ultimately making a recommendation to the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Based on the Committee’s recommendation, the Board voted to divest from direct investments in fossil fuel companies.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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