ERIC Number: EJ962075
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 0
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0145-9635
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Available Date: N/A
Socially Responsible Investing: It's Time for Schools to Get on Board
Armoza, Natalia
Independent School, v71 n1 Fall 2011
Whether it is in their professional development programs, admissions materials, or curricula, independent schools have a lot to say about environmental stewardship, equity, community service, and justice. When they send their students to rebuild post-Katrina New Orleans or construct LEED-certified structures, the schools and their constituents display a profound commitment to being good global citizens. But how concerned are they when it comes to the investing of their endowments? Can schools be both savvy and socially responsible investors? In the 2009-2010 academic year, NAIS-member schools reported a total of $14.7 billion in endowment dollars. Endowment investing, normally managed under the guidance of the board of trustees, gives schools the opportunity to advance their goals of equity and justice. Schools seek to teach their students how to make a positive impact on the world around them, and this commitment extends outside of the classroom. A survey of business officers showed that schools are genuinely interested in environmental design and community service. The majority of schools (70.4 percent) stated that they had recently invested in green buildings or improvements, with almost every school selecting "concern for the environment" as their motivation. An impressive 96 percent of respondents stated that their school had a community service program and selected "concern for society/environment" as the primary motivation. However, these concerns did not carry through to endowment management, where only 17.4 percent of respondents answered that they had an SRI policy. In this article, the author discusses how schools can make their endowments work more ethically through a Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) policy. (Contains 2 notes.)
Descriptors: Environmental Education, Investment, Commercialization, Energy Management, Facility Improvement, School Community Programs, Best Practices, Outcomes of Education, Educational Policy, School Surveys, College Role, Strategic Planning, Social Responsibility
National Association of Independent Schools. 1620 L Street NW Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-793-6701; Tel: 202-973-9700; Fax: 202-973-9790; Web site: http://www.nais.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A