RESPONSIBLE ENDOWMENTS COALITION www.endowmentethics.org

 After a year and a half of campaigning, Pitzer students have won the most comprehensive divestment plan yet. Among many other initiatives, Pitzer has now pledged to:

• Divest their endowment from fossil fuels by the end of this year

• Incorporate environmental and social governance factors into their investment decisions

• Start a Pitzer Sustainability Fund to reinvest in environmental and community projects

• Target a 25% reduction in the college's carbon footprint by the end of 2016

• Create a Campus Sustainability Taskforce

You can find the full plan here.

Pitzer students were the first campus group to start a Responsible Endowments Fund. Before the decision was made, alumni and other supporters donated $11,972 to this independent fund to ensure that their money would go to support just and sustainable projects, rather than the fossil fuel industry.

Jesse Honig, Pitzer class of 2016, explains, "The Pitzer Responsible Endowment Fund clearly showed the support that Pitzer had from the community in its decision to divest. I think it was a tipping point following a year and a half of continued action from the student campaign.”

As the Pitzer administration moves forward on its plan, students are thinking about what comes next. Jess Grady-Benson, Class of 2014, says, "I am excited for the campaign to continue to engage with Pitzer in developing a creative reinvestment plan that will powerfully support a transition to a democratized clean energy economy.”

This news from Pitzer reminds us of what our own colleges are capable of. Pitzer's win has inspired me, as a Swarthmore alum, to continue to push my alma mater on issues of climate justice. Swarthmore's environmental policies leave much to be desired, particularly as Pitzer takes on bold commitments to confront the climate crisis. Alumni can play a powerful role in supporting student divestment efforts. It will take our whole campus communities to keep this momentum up, and I think we're up to the challenge.