Endowment
Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign to Sue University over Prison Investments
Members of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign announced Tuesday afternoon that they will sue the University over its alleged investments in companies tied to the prison industry.
All Five of Harvard Forward Candidates Listed on Board of Overseers Ballot
After a five month campaign, the University announced Tuesday that all five of Harvard Forward’s candidates made it on the annual Board of Overseers election ballot.
Harvard Medical School Faculty Council to Vote on Fossil Fuel Divestment
Harvard Medical School's faculty council plans to vote Wednesday on a resolution urging the University to divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry.
Harvard Faculty Call on Oxford Faculty to Support Student Demands for Divestment
Fourteen Harvard professors penned a letter to Oxford faculty Saturday calling on the faculty at the prestigious English university to support student calls to divest from fossil fuels.
Celebrating with Champagne, Harvard Forward Gains Enough Signatures to Nominate Overseers Candidates
With more than 20,000 signatures in hand, supporters for Harvard Forward hand-carried nomination forms Saturday for the annual Board of Overseers election to Loeb House, which houses Harvard’s governing boards and its administrative offices.
Three Years Into HMC’s Five-Year Plan, Experts Say It Is Too Soon to Judge Narvekar
Despite declining endowment returns since Harvard Management Company CEO N.P. “Narv” Narvekar took the helm, experts say the recent performance figures are not necessarily indicative of his success in the role.
Harvard Forward is Trying to Change the Board of Overseers. Here’s Who They’re Endorsing.
This year’s election for the Board of Overseers — scheduled for April 1 to May 19 — has brought a slew of young alumni campaigning for a chance to compete for a spot on Harvard’s second highest governing body.
Faculty to Consider Proposal Demanding Harvard Divest from Fossil Fuels
A group of Harvard faculty will formally propose that the Harvard Corporation divest the University’s $40.9 billion endowment from fossil fuel companies, according to documents shared with members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Tuesday afternoon.
Harvard Prison Divestment Activists Walk Out of Bacow Meeting
Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign members walked out of a Monday meeting with University President Lawrence S. Bacow and the Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility to protest the administrators’ alleged unwillingness to consider divesting from the prison industry.
Harvard Posts $298 Million Surplus in 2019
University revenues rose to $5.5 billion, a 6 percent increase, according to the report. The largest source of University revenue was distributions from Harvard’s more than $40 billion endowment, which made up 35 percent of total revenue.
Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign Hosts 'Free-Them Week'
The Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign hosted “Free-Them Week” this week to promote prison divestment at the University through a series of seminars, office hours, and workshops.
Divest Harvard Discusses Demands with Bacow, Lee
Five members of Divest Harvard met with University President Lawrence S. Bacow and Senior Corporation Fellow William F. Lee ’72 Wednesday to discuss their demands for the University to divest its more than $40 billion endowment from fossil fuels.
Divest Harvard Holds Protest About University’s Brazilian Land Ownership
Divest Harvard — a student group demanding the University divest from fossil fuels — hosted a day of events Monday calling attention to Harvard’s ownership of Brazilian land and reigniting its calls for the school to sell those holdings in the name of environmentalism.
Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign Publishes Report, Renews Demands
The Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign released a report Wednesday that estimated the University has at least $3 million invested in companies tied to the prison industry and urged administrators to divest all their endowment holdings in such prison-related companies.
Bacow Continues to Support Harvard Management Company’s Five-Year Plan
Following Harvard Management Company’s announcement that it returned 6.5 percent on its investments for fiscal year 2019, University President Lawrence S. Bacow said he continues to support HMC CEO N.P. “Narv” Narvekar and the University’s five-year plan to restructure its endowment management.
Harvard Submits Public Comments to Endowment Tax Rules
Harvard and more than 30 other colleges and universities jointly submitted their formal opposition to the United States Treasury’s proposed rules for implementing a tax on some universities’ endowments that was originally passed into law in December 2017.
As the Amazon Burns, Students Call on Harvard To Divest from Farmland Holdings
In a statement released last week, Divest Harvard specifically condemned the role Brazilian agribusiness has played in the Amazon fires. The statement noted that the Harvard Management Company — the University’s investing arm — owns 300,000 hectares of land in the Brazilian Cerrado.
After More Than a Year of Uncertainty, IRS Releases Proposed Guidance on Filing Endowment Tax
After more than a year of uncertainty, the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed guidance on Friday for higher education institutions — including Harvard — required to pay a new tax on their endowments.
A New Day for Divestment
Student activism at Harvard has evolved over the years, and while divestment is nothing new, it’s now become students’ favorite tactic.
Bacow, Mass. University Presidents Call on Legislators to Repeal Endowment Tax Ahead of First Filing
University President Lawrence S. Bacow joined five other Massachusetts university and college presidents in urging United States Representative Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.) to repeal the endowment tax set to be levied on Harvard’s next filings in a letter last month.
Heat Week Kicks Off With Demands From Students, Faculty, and Alumni
At the start of a revitalized “Heat Week” campaign, students, faculty, and alumni gathered to call on University President Lawrence S. Bacow and Harvard administrators to divest their endowment holdings in the fossil fuel industry at a press conference at the Charles Hotel Monday.
Nearly Half of Harvard’s Annual Revenue Derived from Donors
Forty-five percent of Harvard’s annual revenue comes from donors — either as endowment returns or direct gifts — University Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance Thomas J. Hollister said in an interview Wednesday.
In Years Since 2008 Recession, Harvard Paid Down Debt, Built Reserves
Harvard has reduced its debt load by roughly $1 billion and increased its reserves in preparation for a potential future recession, University Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Finance Thomas J. Hollister said in an interview Wednesday.
New Harvard Management Company Website Removes Divestment Information, Defends Natural Resources Holdings
Harvard Management Company updated its website within the last month to remove any mention of past instances of divestment and to include references to its protocols on its investment in land and agriculture.
Bacow Details DACA Lobbying Efforts, Faculty Vote on Concurrent Degree Proposal at Monthly Meeting
University President Lawrence S. Bacow updated faculty on his recent meetings with Congressional leaders about the endowment tax and protections for University affiliates whose immigration status is currently in peril at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’s monthly meeting Tuesday.