Minutes from Fossil Free WSU Meeting (on Zoom) on March 14, 2023
Present: Stevie Smith, Daniel Howell, Simon Smith, Danielle Weinberger, Robert Rohl, Mason Burnes, Bill Engels
1. Public Comments at March 10th Board of Regents’ Meeting
Congratulations to Simon and Ryan for their spirited public comments advocating for fossil fuel divestment!
2. WSU Foundation’s Investments
Bill reported that he received a reply from Mike Connell, CEO of the WSU Foundation, to his email asking whether WSU still had investments in EnCap, the offshore hedge fund that is a major financial backer of fossil fuel companies, and to what extent WSU is invested in fossil fuels. He replied that 1.3% of the total portfolio appeared to be invested in EnCap. (If the $634 M figure Bill got from the internet is the total of the current portfolio, WSU has $82.42 M invested in EnCap.) Mr. Connell also estimated the portfolio’s investments in fossil fuels to be at the lower end of a 6.5%-8% range. He stated that about 5.8% of the Cougar Fund (about $4 M) is invested in fossil fuels (matching the estimate President Schulz shared with Mason in his follow-up letter) and listed the 8 energy companies. He pointed out that although some of them are engaged in the fossil fuel industry, they are also heavily invested in renewables. He gave the example of NextEra Energy, which he identified as the world’s largest generator of wind and sun energy.
A brief internet search by Desiree on NextEra Energy showed an apparent issue with negatively impacting vulnerable communities. Also, she pointed out that WSU should be making a financial return to the indigenous community in the state for the millions of dollars it receives from the Land Act, but NextEra Energy is based in Florida.
Simon pointed out that, if in fact the amount of WSU’s investments in fossil fuels is small, then divestment shouldn’t hurt their portfolio. (This can be a good argument for addressing the concerns of students and faculty about the financial repercussions of divesting.) He also suggested that we seek the support of the indigenous community for our campaign. The Social Justice Conference on April 21st, which ESA will co-sponsor and Stevie may present at, would be a good opportunity to connect with this community.
3. Student Petition
Stevie reported that the Asian Pacific American Student Coalition, whom he presented to two weeks before, had signed the group petition. There were currently 872 signatures on the individual student petition. Bill reported that at least one of the paper posters for the petition he put up in the CUB a month ago had been taken down.
4. Faculty Survey
Stevie and Bill decided since the previous FFWSU meeting, instead of a petition, to send a survey asking faculty whether they thought WSU should divest. The survey with the accompanying email is scheduled to go out on March 27th. Two of Stevie’s professors on the Faculty Senate thought that more faculty should be made aware of the FFWSU campaign before sending them a petition or they might disregard it.
Stevie suggested that after the survey, if enough faculty showed support, we ask the Faculty Senate to sign a petition. He could arrange to have the petition brought before them during a meeting. Presenting a resolution to them for their approval would involve a very formal process, he said. Bill recommended that we continue in subsequent meetings discussing the best steps for achieving our goal. Our plan of action will also depend on what we find out from Jason Sampson.
5. Sustainability Task Force
Stevie reported that Jason, ESA faculty advisor and co-chair of the Task Force, planned to attend our next FFWSU meeting. He will share updates on the Task Force and respond to our questions.
6. Rally and March in April
Ryan, who is researching activities by other universities for divestment campaigning, reported by email after the meeting that he sent inquiries to four universities but received only one response. The university said they didn’t know if an environmental group was involved in a divestment campaign. Ryan didn’t receive a follow-up report from them regarding this.
7. Governor Inslee’s Talk on February 17th
Congratulations to Gil for his question asking Governor Inslee whether he supported fossil fuel divestment! The Governor indicated that he would back a decision by WSU to divest.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 28th, 6 pm, on Zoom.
Fossil Free WSU 