Syracuse University should explore the option of joining a peer-to-peer advisory network as a supplemental resource in navigating the management of its endowment.

The Intentional Endowments Network announced the launch of a peer-to-peer coalition consisting of 77 institutions last week to support socially conscious endowment investment practices — specifically for efforts related to environmental sustainability, social and governance — in order to enhance financial returns while remaining aligned with respective institutional missions and values.

Founding members of the peer networking group — which currently include Arizona State University, University of Maine and University of Dayton, an SU peer institution — will have access to resources and industry experts as a part of what is designed to serve as an educational initiative without needing to commit to any binding course of action.

And while SU is not by any means obligated to support the ethical investment of its $1.166 billion endowment — the amount outlined as of June 2015 on the university’s website — as a private institution, the administration should consider working with an institutional collective to be exposed to a wider range of informed and socially conscious suggestions — a measure that wouldn’t be unfamiliar to the university.

In a December email to The Daily Orange, Kevin Quinn, senior vice president of public affairs, said SU’s Board of Trustees’ Investment and Endowment Committee conducts regular audits of its investment portfolio to ensure that SU’s investments meet the requirements for socially responsible investing. Quinn added that these decisions are supported by Institutional Shareholder Services, an organization that provides investment advising tools to the university.

But while the consideration of joining a peer coalition should acknowledge the ability for the collaborative exchange of ideas across institutions, SU should remain conscious of the fact that the networking group is a mix of public and private institutions from various regions across the United States.

In this way, the asset of diversity of opinion could function as a deterrent for progress and one that creates a degree of pressure, considering a case of disproportionate views on behalf of the universities could mean the group consensus support for a cause that may not support SU’s own mission and reflect poorly on the university — a dynamic the university should avoid if present within the network.

SU’s Board of Trustees rightfully has the ultimate say in decisions regarding the endowment that should aim to achieve the utmost financial return to benefit the university. And though these judgments are not bound to ethics, it would be admirable for SU to consider working with other institutions under the shared understanding that there is always room for improvement.

Published on March 21, 2016 at 12:05 am

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