Duke Divested: an open letter to the community

Thank you to all the undergraduates, graduate students, alumni and faculty who voiced your support for divesting from Sudan. Duke has responded to our concerns and divested funding that was supporting the Sudanese government's genocidal military campaign.

However, University officials must take steps to ensure that Duke remains divested from Sudan. To facilitate this goal, we have prepared the following four recommendations for the University administration and the Duke University Management Company, which is responsible for Duke's investments:

1. Remain directly divested from Sudan. The University should not directly invest, or in some cases reinvest, in offending companies.

2. Decrease or limit current co-mingled investments in offending companies. Duke holds shares in co-mingled funds not specifically targeted by our divestment campaign. These co-mingled funds include mutual funds, for example, that invest in offending companies. The administration should consider divesting from these funds, or at least not invest any more money in them.

3. Apply pressure strategically to divest co-mingled funds. The University administration should continue acting proactively, by contacting the managers of mutual funds in which Duke is invested and asking them to divest from offending companies.

4. Maintain appropriate oversight of University investments. Since Duke's holdings are not publicized, the student body has no way to independently verify the University's divested status. The Duke University Management Company and the University Priorities Committee should reevaluate Duke's holdings on a regular basis to confirm that the university remains divested from offending companies.

Working, speaking and standing together, we can continue to enact change.

Human Rights Working Group

Global Health Working Group

Nicholas Institute Graduate Liaisons

Students Taking Action Now: Darfur